Mass Effect: Memories of the Homefront
by unity9
Summary: Commander Shepard discovers a derelict salarian ship near the Omega 4 relay which has been disabled for 157 years. The only survivors were Timothy Paterson and Jonathan Court, both veterans of the Second Korean War. How will these men cope with waking up in the future and still coping with horrors of war haunting their past? M for language and violence. O/C from Homefront.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N:_**

_I do not own the Mass Effect series or do I own the Homefront series._

_I would also like to say that I'm trying something a little different and see what people think. I personally liked the game Homefront, but I must admit that it was a bit outlandish. I will still be working on **The Matrix Effect** and its sequels coming soon, but I hope you like what I made here. Paterson and Court are two characters I invented myself so I hope you like these guys. Enjoy.  
_

* * *

**MEMORIES OF THE HOMEFRONT**

** CHAPTER 1**

Staff Sergeant Timothy Paterson adjusted his watch when he crossed over from central time to Mountain Time. The watch reads _11:34 pm, 09/23/2028_ and Paterson put his hand down. He was feeling a little tired from this drive from the reestablished Fort Carson, Colorado to the port of San Francisco where the U.S. military was spring boarding an offensive of the South Pacific.

Paterson was right now sitting in the passenger seat of the Army's new M939 truck, with a converted fuel cell that runs on electricity instead of gasoline. This truck was one of many brand new vehicles being produced day after day since the liberation of western United States and Canada. He would not have imagined it two years ago, because two years ago he was conducting guerilla warfare against the Korean occupation in dilapidated suburban buildings. Now he was a full-fledged soldier about to bring the fight to Korea's front yard and to make things better, the United States was enjoying a new booming wartime economy. Not to mention that Mexico and Canada are also joining in this fight for what Korea did when they activated their faux GPS Satellite in 2025. They didn't just wipe out all electronic gear in the western U.S., but also in Mexico and western Canada. Texas has rejoined the union, not out of gratefulness but out of necessity. The Korean occupation invaded the newly succeeded Republic and killed 99% of the governmental body so without a leg to stand on, the former Republic reapplied as a state and was allowed to return to the United States. Even better was the support of the European Union. This is what people of his great-great-grandparents generation must've felt during the Second World War.

Along with him was his friend Sergeant Jonathan Court. Also a former American resistance fighter now turned American soldier, he was taking over driving duties as they were not making any overnight stops, because it's still not safe to camp at night and the quicker to participate in this great offensive the better. Court was excited for the simple fact that now America can punish the Korean beast that created so much turmoil and destruction from 2025 to 2027.

They were driving through an old highway somewhere in Nevada and they were the only vehicle out on the highway. The highways of western United States are now under control of the U.S. Military and only transport vehicles are allowed on and off the roads. Transportation of passengers and cargo from one end to the country to the other was now utilized by train. Occasionally there have been a massive order of vehicles to be transported to the west coast and not all vehicles can take the train as cargo. So soldiers like Paterson and Court were taking their M939 on the road.

Paterson would like nothing but sleep, but he must stay alert for potential highwaymen on the road. Court saw Paterson getting a little tired. "You can go to sleep if you want." Court told his friend.

"No." Paterson told his friend. "I learned to stay up when I drove trucks for a living. Besides, we should be on alert. I hear stories of crazed hillbillies still fighting isolated pockets of KPA out here. I also hear stories of Koreans, that haven't been captured and put to work cleaning up the Mississippi River, are also known to still roam the desert and mountains."

"That's not what I heard." Court said. "I hear other stories, stories that go further back to the 1950's. Old stories of UFOs and people getting abducted by those UFOs."

"You believe that stuff?" Paterson narrowed his eyes at his friend. "You must have had more time on your hands during the financial crash, because I didn't have the luxury of indulging in farfetched stories."

"You have no imagination." Court smirked. "I was in college at the time, remember?"

"Oh, I have imagination." Paterson smiled. "It's just that my imagination doesn't involve little green men coming down in flying saucers."

"Actually, grey and sometimes tan." Court corrected Paterson.

"Excuse me?" Paterson gestured to explain what he said.

"Often they are grey or tan in color." Court added. "They were also seen to have big dark eyes and large heads."

"Really?" Paterson's interest rose slightly.

"What I also heard is that the government established a secret airbase out here in the Nevada desert…" Court was interrupted when the engine started to stall. Then the truck stopped moving.

"What happened?" Paterson asked.

"I don't know?" Court looked puzzled as he tries desperately to start the engine again. "It just stalled out."

"Dammit." Paterson exclaimed. "Not out here." Paterson grabbed his M4 rifle, his gear, and he put his cover over his head. "I'm going to check out where we are. Radio in our position. See if we can get someone out here to help us out." Paterson was pulling out his night vision goggles to see if some random highwayman was lurking out behind a bushel of tumbleweeds.

"Paterson." Court called to his friend. "The radio's not working."

"What?" Paterson couldn't understand what's going on. "We gotta do something, because I'm not spending the night out here." After Paterson finished his sentence, a bright flash came out of nowhere. Paterson was blinded, because the night vision goggles increased the flash.

"Paterson!" Court grabbed his gear, cover, and his M4 rifle. He rushed to assist his friend while wary of the bright light. He checked Paterson's eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Paterson rubbed his eyes after dropping his goggles on the ground. When he was able to see again, he gazed at the light above their heads. "What is that?"

After Paterson asked, the two soldiers unknowingly lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

Paterson opened his eyes and he was lying on a table. He couldn't move his body or even his head; however he could see what was going on.

He saw someone or something moving around in front of him. The person was looking over another table in front of him, examining another body. When Paterson realized that body belonged to Court, he yelled at the person. "Hey! Where am I?"

When the person turned around, he was given the jolt of his life. After seeing so many horrors the war could throw at Paterson, he never felt sheer terror until he saw the face of the person examining his friend.

The thing's head was oval shaped. Its eyes were large and black. The color of its skin was grey. It looked like it had two mandibles growing out of the top of its head. It looked at Paterson and lifted its left arm, revealing three fingers on its hand. The thing was pressing down on a few buttons next to the table and blackness came over Paterson.

* * *

**157 Years Later**

The SR2 Normandy was leaving Omega, as Commander Shepard just recently re-acquired Garrus AKA Archangel. Shepard was thrilled to have his old squad mate and friend back, but now he was worried about the condition of his turian comrade. Garrus just received an injury that would normally kill anyone else. In Shepard's disciplined trained mind, he knew he must stay focused on the mission. One of the first objectives was to go to the prison space station of Purgatory. On their dossier, they had to pick up a highly advanced biotic convict only going by the name of 'Jack'.

As the Normandy was passing through Omega's asteroid belt, the ship's Master at Arms Lieutenant Jacob Taylor called the Commander to the comm room. Shepard walked into an almost empty room with nothing but a long oval shaped table, projecting a virtual hologram of the SR2 Normandy. Jacob was waiting for the Commander.

With almost a solemn tone, the darken skin man told Shepard the update on Garrus's health. "Commander. We've done what we could for Garrus, but he took a bad hit. The docs corrected with surgical procedures and some cybernetics. Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality, but…"

As Jacob was about to finish his sentence, the doors to the com room hissed open and in came the battle scarred turian. The skin on the right side of his face, including his right mandible, was burned and mangled. Along with his damages, his blue armor was scarred from where a rocket had exploded.

Shepard smiled when he saw his friend walking around. "Shepard." Garrus simply said to the human.

Jacob lit up when he saw the turian. "Tough son of a bitch. Didn't think he'd be up yet."

"Nobody would give me a mirror." Garrus said. "How bad is it?"

Shepard just smiled and crossed his arms. "Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some face paint on there and nobody would even notice."

Garrus was attempting to laugh, but felt the pinch of the pain of his injuries. "Don't make me laugh, damn it. My face is barely holding together as it is. Ah, probably for the best. Everyone was always ignoring you and hitting on me. Time for you to get a fair shot at it." Shepard smiled and shook his head. Then Jacob salutes to Shepard and walks out of the comm room as Garrus spoke again. "Frankly, I'm more worried about you. I've heard bad things about Cerberus these past few years."

"That's why I'm glad you're here, Garrus." Shepard said. "If I'm walking into hell, I want someone I trust at my side."

"You realize that this plan has me walking into hell, too." Garrus gusted out a small laugh. "Just like old times. I'm fit for duty whenever you need me, Shepard. I'll settle in and see what I can do at the forward batteries."

"I'll keep you posted whenever…" Shepard was interrupted by the computerized feminine voice known as EDI.

"Shepard." EDI appeared replacing the virtual image of the Normandy as a bright blue sphere. "I have found something."

"What is that?" Garrus asked.

"This is EDI." Shepard said. "The ship's A.I."

"A.I.?" Garrus shakes his head. "Cerberus knows no boundaries, do they?"

"What did you find?" Shepard asked.

"I found an abandoned ship located in the middle of a cluster of asteroids." EDI said.

"There are a lot of old ships in this area EDI." Shepard said. "What makes this one so special?"

"The Normandy's systems are more advanced to pick up unusual anomalies than most known ships in Citadel space." EDI explained. "This ship is of salarian origin. It is emitting a distress signal and reading two weak life signs."

Shepard's curiosity got the best of him. "Let's check it out." Then Shepard turns to Garrus. "Looks like I'm going to need you sooner than I thought."

"I'll get my gear ready, Shepard." Garrus said. "We should bring the salarian doctor along."

"Mordin?" Shepard said. "I agree. He could probably identify the markings on the ship better than we can."

* * *

They took the Normandy's Kodiak shuttle when the ship came into sight. The salarian ship looked undamaged, but just drifted in the empty confines of space. The shuttle docked next to a circular opening and Mordin instructed the Commander on how the salarian technology worked.

When to door opened; Shepard, Garrus, and Mordin entered the dark empty shell that was once a ship. Shepard and Garrus had their breathing helmets on while Mordin simply wore a breathing mask.

The door closed behind them and EDI spoke through their communicators. "_Shepard. I can access the ship's mainframe and temporarily activate the ship's basic power source to access through the ship's interior a little easier._"

"Do it EDI." Shepard ordered the A.I. and after he gave the order, the ships power and lights hummed back to life. Then he looks at the salarian. "Mordin, what's your take on this ship?"

"It would appear to be a research vessel." Mordin said. "Typical standard salarian research vessel."

"What were they researching?" Garrus asked.

Mordin activated his Omni-tool and looked over a control panel. "This research was part of research group that specified on… on… yes… studying pre-Mass Effect species. According to the markings this is the same group that discovered the krogan during the Rachni War."

"Study?" Shepard looked perplexed. "You mean they observed these species."

"That plus they would take them on board temporarily." Mordin said.

"You mean they abducted these pre-Mass Effect species and ran tests on them?" Shepard inclined.

"Precisely, but no harm came of them." Mordin activated the door behind the trio and pointed down the room. Mordin just walked towards the room while Shepard and Garrus followed. "The control room is this way. Can access knowledge of what happened to ship's crew."

"Doctor." Shepard pressed on the issue. "What did these researchers do?"

"They simply selected a single member of the planet's sentient life and brought them onboard." Mordin pointed to the large room they were in.

"Shepard." Garrus called for his old friend. "Stasis pods. It looks like they haven't had power for quite some time. There must be a hundred of them."

"Yes." Mordin added. "Each containing a different species discovered. See for yourselves."

Mordin wiped the frost from the condensation from the window of the stasis pod, caused from the cold dead ship's lack of power. Shepard and Garrus can see the occupant inside. It was a dead alien. It was a mummified alien with green wrinkled skin. It had two large eyes, an open gaping mouth with sharp teeth, long thin arms & legs, and it wore only a loincloth around its waist.

Shepard looked at Mordin, but he walked over to what looked like a locker next to the defunct stasis pod and looked inside.

"They also take what was on the creature's possession to study its level of technology and advancement." Mordin pulls out what looks like a wooden handle and a piece of sharpened stone at the tip. Then he pulls out a bag made of some animal hide. "The evidence shows this species is only in its Stone Age level of development." Then he places the items back in the locker.

"Poor bastard didn't know what was going on." Garrus shook his head at the dead primitive alien.

Mordin activated his Omni-tool and said. "The ship's power suggests that there is still power on two of these stasis pods. Over by the upper left corner of this room." He said as he pointed. "I will check out the ship's cockpit and activate flight records to find out what happened."

Mordin walked away, while Shepard and Garrus walked over to investigate the pods.

"It's a damn shame." Garrus commented. "If these species are anything like us, they probably had people who knew them and wondered what happened to them."

"I know." Shepard added. "These beings were taken on board this ship so some salarians can poke and prod them all they want."

"I think we found it." Garrus said as he saw soft lights of the two stasis pods. Garrus decided to do the honors by wiping away the frost on the glass canopy. He looked inside, but he was awestruck when he saw what was inside. "Spirits."

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"Shepard, you need to see this for yourself." Garrus inclined.

Shepard looked through the wet glass and he lost his breath when he saw what was inside. It was a human.

Garrus went over to the other pod and he looked inside. It was the same response as before. "Shepard. Another human."

"My god." Shepard shakes his head. "They were doing this to humans as well?"

"Don't forget what the doctor said." Garrus pointed out. "This ship studied pre-Mass Effect species. Humans are still new to the galactic scene. It's obvious that this ship is older than the humanity's first discovery of those Prothean ruins on Mars."

"Well, they're still alive and they need help." Shepard activated his communicator. "Mordin, we got two live ones here and they're both human."

Mordin responded over the communicator. "_Really? Fascinating. Just picking up information from flight log. Be there in a moment._"

"EDI." Shepard said. "Tell Dr. Chakwas to get the med bay ready. We're bringing in two passengers."

"_Yes Shepard._" EDI responded.

* * *

Shepard stood outside of the medical bay with Garrus and Jacob. They were waiting for the results of their two newest guests as they were being studied by Mordin and Dr. Chakwas.

Miranda Lawson came up to the three men and she had an inquisitive look on her face as she read her data pad. "Are you sure I'm reading this correctly?"

"I'm afraid so." Shepard said.

Miranda skimmed through the report. "Salarian research vessel? Ship containing pre-Mass Effect species? And of course, two humans on board from roughly the early 21st century? The Illusive Man's going to love this."

"I don't want to add fuel to his cause." Shepard said as he was painfully reminded that he works for a famed xenophobic human group. "When you send a report out, make it sound like we found survivors and not victims of experimentation. Understood, Lawson?"

"Yes, Commander." Miranda shrugged. "So what did you find on that ship?"

"Well, it's what the report said." Shepard looked at Miranda's data pad.

Jacob added to the conversation. "But if you're looking for proof, look at the personal effects they had with them." He pulled out his own data pad. "They had two M4A1 assault rifles with M68 Close Combat Optics attached to them. Two Beretta M9 pistols. Attached to their personal effects were old files that contained their medical, dental, and service records."

"Were these men soldiers?" Garrus asked.

"I believe so." Jacob said. "I can't wait to break down those antique weapons. It will be a pleasure to see how they worked."

"Just be sure to put them back together." Shepard said. "It still belongs to them."

"But what about these soldiers." Miranda asked.

Jacob passed the data pad to Shepard as he read aloud. "According to their personnel records, they were part of the United States Army." Shepard said. "Their names are Staff Sergeant Timothy Paterson and Sergeant Jonathan Court. They were heavily engaged with the Second Korean war from 2025 to 2027 fighting the occupation forces with the American Resistance network. After the Korean withdrawal, they enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2027 and they were stationed in Colorado when they had orders to report to an army division being formed out of San Francisco."

"I guess the salarian ship took them somewhere in between." Jacob said.

Right then, the door opened and Dr. Chakwas and Dr. Solus walked out of the medical bay.

"How are they, doctor?" Shepard asked.

"They are still out cold, but they are in perfect health." Chakwas said.

Mordin said. "They will recover, but after prolonged time in stasis they will be asleep for days."

"My God." Shepard said while shaking his head. "They are going to wake up realizing that it's not their time period anymore. Losing two years being dead was bad enough for me, but imagine the shock those two will feel when they realize that they have been asleep for over a hundred and fifty-seven years."

Garrus tried to lighten the mood a bit. "They'll also be the oldest military recruits in Alliance history."

Shepard shrugged the turian's comment and looked at Mordin. "What did you find out from the flight records?"

"It would appear they were studying species from each of the individual planets in the Terminus systems." Mordin activated his Omni-tool. "They were going to study the progress of each species and when the testing was over, they would use the Mass Relays to slip back a few minutes after the moment of abduction and return the individual back to where they found them."

"Slip?" Shepard asked.

Mordin explained. "Timed dilatation of the Mass Relay can be achieved by altering the physics of the Mass Relays. In other words… going back in time. Method stopped recently when crew of these ships were losing years of their lives. Often a salarian lived to be forty years of age, but constant use of slip aged salarian crew faster and often reaching old age by the time of being thirty to thirty-five."

"So this crew was using a Mass Relay to go back in time." Garrus said. "What went wrong?"

Mordin closes his eyes and shakes his head. "They used the Omega 4 Relay. Systems shut down. The crew was dead, mysterious reasons. Only survivors in stasis pods when their power source lasted."

There was a moment of silence, but the silence was broken when Joker, the ship's pilot made an announcement. "_Heads up everyone. We'll be arriving at Purgatory space station in fifteen minutes._"

Shepard looked at his crew. "Alright. What I understand is that this prison is run by the Blue Suns. I'm going to bring Zaeed up here from the engineering deck since he's familiar with the merc groups." Then he looks at Miranda. "And since Cerberus is making the pick-up for Jack, I want you to come along Miranda."

"Yes, Commander." Miranda nods and she walks back over to her office.

Shepard opens the medical bay door and looks at the bed being occupied by the two time warped soldiers. He looks at Dr. Chakwas and Mordin. "When those two wake up, they are going to need all the help they can get. Have Chambers come down here and talk to them on coping with the culture shock."

"Yes, Commander." Chakwas said and Mordin just nodded.

Shepard just spoke. "Now let's get ready to pick up Jack."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:

_I do not own the Mass Effect series or Homefront.  
_

* * *

**MEMORIES OF THE HOMEFRONT**

**CHAPTER 2**

* * *

Commander Shepard, the bounty hunter Zaeed, and Operative Lawson returned to the Normandy. They brought along a new member of the team, a young female biotic named Jack. She wasn't what Shepard thought she was going to be especially sporting a boy's name.

Jack's head was shaved; she wore combat boots & pants, while wearing only her colorful tattoos and straps to barely cover her breasts _leaving nothing to the imagination._ Now after she was debriefed by Shepard and Miranda. She was allowed to gain access to Cerberus files, because apparently she had a turbulent history with this organization. She was given a few data pads to Miranda's annoyance, which put a lot of joy into Jack's heart.

After the destruction of the prison ship, they went to recruit a krogan scientist named Okeer. The planet they attempted to retrieve the krogan was ran by the Blue Suns and they were using Okeer's rejected krogan specimens for training. Unfortunately, Okeer wasn't going to come. He was killed by the merc's leader, but now they had a full grow krogan in the cargo hold. A tank bred krogan to be exact and it was considered to be perfect according to Okeer's account.

Shepard took a big risk by opening the tank and waiting to see what the specimen would do. After a minor scuffle, the krogan told the Commander that he will fight for him and accepted the name 'Grunt'.

Jack decided to leave her personal pit and went to the upper deck where the mess hall is for a bite to eat. She stopped by Garner, the ship's cook and asked for a sandwich. When she got a roast beef sandwich, she looked through the medical bay's windows and saw two men sleeping on the beds.

"Hey cook?" Jack asked with a little flair of attitude. "What's up with the stiffs?"

Gardner looked at the biotic felon and then looked at the two men sleeping in the medical bay. "Those two just been found on a derelict salarian ship that had been disabled for quite a while. They were in stasis when we found them. They're all anyone can talk about on this ship."

"Huh." Jack scoffed and then she takes a bite from her sandwich. She looks at the meal and narrows her eyes at the sandwich. "Shit's still better than what they served in prison." Then she just walks away.

Gardner just ignored the subtle insult and looked at the two men. Then he became curious when he saw one of the heads move. He called to a couple of servicemen sitting at the mess table. "They're about to wake up. This ought to be interesting."

* * *

Shepard was talking to Kelly Chambers, the ship's yeoman and secretly the ship's psychiatrist. She was talking about the psych profiles of Zaeed and Jack, but he was interrupted by EDI's blue orb.

"Commander." EDI said. "Paterson and Court are starting to show signs of awakening."

"Ah." Shepard looked at Kelly. "Now remember what I want you to do when those two wake up?"

"Yes, Commander." The bubbly redhead acknowledged. "I'll start organizing my notes now."

* * *

Paterson eyes were slowly opening. He was shaking his head, but he wasn't fully aware of what or where he was. He didn't even know that he fell asleep. Then it dawned to him, because he remembered his last memory. It was an alien looking over the body of his friend Court. That was when he jerked up from his bed and looked around. He started to breathe heavily and while trying to make out _what here is_.

"A hospital?" Paterson asked himself when he saw the makings of a hospital room. Beds, heart monitors, sterile environment. All the makings of a hospital, but some of the devices surrounding the room looked odd. It's nothing that he has ever seen before. The only thing he recognizes in the room was Court. He was lying on the bed next to his.

Paterson tried to call his friend's name, but as quietly as he could by using his loudest whisper. "Court. Court. Wake up."

Court's eyes began to open as he starts to look around. He lifts his head and sees his friend trying to talk to him. "Paterson? Where are we?"

"I don't know." Paterson said. "Looks like a hospital. But where?"

"I didn't know they got the hospitals up and ready so soon." Court said while looking at the equipment. "This can't be a hospital on the west coast. It looks too nice."

Then Paterson's eyes widened. "You don't think we're in a KPA hospital?"

"I don't know." Court thought for a moment. "The Koreans don't treat their injured so well. I doubt they would be courteous to prisoners."

When Paterson was feeling brave, he got up from his bed. He found a pair of combat boots next his bed and realized they were his. Most of his clothes are still on him, except his blouse which was gone and he was wearing only his pants, socks, and tan undershirt. Court saw him a followed suite.

After they got their boots on, they both looked up and saw through the window of this strange hospital. They realize there were men and women behind the window. They were wearing some black and white skintight shirts. For some reason Paterson and Court was attracting the attention of these people like they were the some exhibit at an art show or an exotic animal in a zoo.

Then Paterson pulled Court to his side. They turned away from the gawking people and Patterson spoke. "I remember what happened. We were in the truck when the engines cut out. Then that light showed up. Then the last thing I remember was seeing some big eyed alien." Then Paterson looked at his friend. "You asshole! This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" Court looked dumbfounded at Paterson. "How is it my fault?"

"The minute you start talking about aliens and UFOs we're picked up by one." Paterson explained in his own sense of logic.

"I thought you don't believe in that?" Court said.

"Well I guess I believe it now." Paterson slightly looked over his left shoulder but froze for a moment. Then he returned to his friend. "Oh my, God!"

"What is it?" Court asked.

"Slowly take a look at what is looking through the window." Paterson said while breathing heavily.

Court looked over his shoulder and froze in fear himself. "Jesus!"

Court couldn't move, because he was looking at a creature looking through the window. This creature was wearing a type of blue armor around its body, while its face was scaly, and the scales stretched out in the form of a fringe in the back of its head.

"What is it?" Court turned his head back and tried to gain his composure.

"I think it's an alien!" Paterson said.

"It looks like a huge bird!" Court finally found his center and calmed down after his training kicked in. "You said we were abducted? Maybe we're on the ship. How can that be? Those people are clearly humans, right?"

"Maybe they just look like humans or they could be slaves." Paterson made his point. "We got to get out of here."

"Where? How?" Court questioned the situation.

Paterson looks to his side and notice the door. "That looks like a door, but it leads outside to where those people and that thing is. Look. What about that door over there?"

"Let's check it out." Court suggested and the two confused soldiers walked over to the metallic door while their backs were turned on the crowd.

"Where's the handle?" Paterson asked.

"I don't know? There's just this green light." Court was pointing out the holographic green light that lingered. Court felt a little brave and aimed to touch the light. Then the green light flickered off and the solid object in front of them opened. "Huh, I guess that worked."

* * *

Garrus and the other members of the Normandy's crew were watching the two men observing their surroundings. Garrus knew these men were from another time when most of this technology wasn't available. He was shocked to discover how they figured out to operate the sliding door.

Garrus opened a link to Shepard. "Shepard, we have a problem."

"_What is it, Garrus?_" Shepard responded.

"You better hurry up and get down here." Garrus was showing concern. "These two guys are moving around and they just wandered into EDI's A.I. core."

"_I'll be there in a minute._" Shepard responded.

* * *

Paterson and Court didn't know what they were looking at, but the room was lit up with blue lights, storage tanks, and strange wires. They looked around to find an exit, but they could only find the entrance to a duct system.

"Think this is a way out?" Paterson asked.

"Maybe, but is it safe?" Court asked.

Then a woman's voice cracked to life. "It would be safer if you remained in the medical bay."

Paterson and Court leapt back when they heard a woman's voice. Their alertness triggered their defensive posture, but they didn't know what to do when they saw nobody in the room.

"Who said that?" Paterson asked.

"I did." A blue ball formed as the ball spoke to them.

"What is that?" Court shakes his head.

"I am EDI." The blue ball said. "I am the ship's artificial intelligent programmer."

"Artificial intelligence?" Court questioned shaking his head. "Now I know we're on an alien ship."

"We're going down this shaft." Paterson dictated as he climbed down the ladder.

"Right behind you." Court said.

"Sergeant Paterson. Sergeant Court." The blue holographic ball called the men by their names. "If you wait, all will be explained."

"Screw off, Hal!" Court told off the floating blue ball.

"My name is EDI, not Hal." By the time the voice responded with an answer, the soldier was gone.

* * *

Shepard arrived at medical bay only to find the two newly awakened soldiers gone. He walked up to Garrus and asked. "What happened?"

"They wandered off into the A.I. core." Garrus said as he pointed to the room.

Before Shepard could respond, EDI holographic image showed before Shepard. "Commander. Sergeant Paterson and Sergeant Court climbed into the air vents."

Shepard showed a mix of frustration and fear for the well-being of these two men. "Where do the vents lead to?" Shepard asked.

"Down below the engineering deck." EDI answered.

"Wait a minute, isn't Jack down there?" Garrus asked.

"Oh, shit." Shepard bolted towards the elevator. "I hope she doesn't kill them."

* * *

Paterson and Court were on all fours while crawling through the vent. They didn't know where they were going, but they hoped to find an opening soon. They didn't want to crawl around this vent all day.

Hope was restored when Paterson saw light at the end of the vent. It was an exit. _Thank God_. Paterson thought to himself.

He is looking at the exit with some degree of caution. He could make out what looked like grates on the floor.

"What do you see?" Court asked.

"Looks like a basement or a boiler room." Paterson takes a deep breath. "I'm going in."

Paterson grabs the sides of the exit and lowers his body into the unknown room. Then he releases his grip and allows gravity to take control as he drops to the ground.

Court pops his head out and looks at Paterson. "Do you see anything?"

"Nothing so far, but…" Paterson's train of thought drifted when he saw what appeared to be a woman. This woman had a shaved head, her torso covered with tattoos, and wearing only a string strap covering her chest. She looked at Paterson with a scowl on her face. "Uhhh. Sorry. We'll be out of your way in just a second… ma'am."

Suddenly the woman did something Paterson didn't expect. She began surrounding herself with an omniscient blue mist that formed around her body. She stuck out her right hand and Paterson was in shock to see that he was levitating. He looked down and realized that he was engulfed in the same blue mist and he was hovering what appeared to be a couple feet from the air.

"Who the fuck are you?!" The woman demanded to know from her prisoner.

Before Paterson could answer, Court jumped through the hole and managed to land a foot on her chest. The woman lost control when she rolled backwards into a desk. Before she could collect herself, Court got up and balled his right hand in a fist. The woman was about to charge the man, but Court was faster and punched the bald woman square in the jaw. The woman fell to the floor.

"What the hell was this bald chick doing to you?" Court frantically asked.

"I don't know what that was, but I was under some control!" Paterson said.

"Let's get out of here!" Court suggested.

Both Paterson and Court ran up a flight of stairs and came across another door with a green circular light in the center. Court placed his hand on the green circle again and the door opened. They found themselves in what looked like a hallway. Right before their view was a full view of what appeared to be a type of hangar. At this point they were tired of asking questions, so they walked over to what seems to be an elevator.

They didn't know what button to press, but then they realized that someone or something is coming down from the upper floors.

"They're coming for us!" Court said. "What do we do?"

"Ahhh, dammit!" Paterson tried to think of an idea. "Split up!"

"Are you sure that's wise?" Court raised his hands.

"I don't know, but we could elude them better if we split up!" Paterson said.

"Fine!" Court said. "I'll move left!"

"Okay, I'll go this way!" Paterson points to the right.

The two soldiers split their paths. Court ran towards another door. He hurried as fast as he could. When he touched the green circle, the door opened. He made one last look behind him before entering the room. When he turned his head back around, there was an elderly man wearing yellow armor, he had a hideous scar running down his right side of the face with one brown eye on his left and a milky white eye on his right. The man was pointing what he guessed was to be a rifle at his head.

Court raised his arm up and knocked the rifle away and he gave the scarred elderly man a swift kick to his midsection. The man didn't feel phased from the blow, so Court turned around and attempted to run away. However, the man turned his rifle around and used the butt to slam in the back of Court's head. Court slumped down and hit the floor face first.

* * *

Paterson entered through the door and closed it right behind him. He gasped for air while he waited a few moments, but then he heard what sounded like grumbling. He turned around and his eyes widened as his jaw dropped to the floor. He was looking at some kind of reptile creature before him. It reminded Paterson of a dinosaur standing on its hind legs. The top of this one's spine was slightly curved, giving him a hunchbacked form. The effect was further enhanced by the heavy addition of bone and mounted flesh growing from his upper back, collar, and shoulders like a thick shell, from which his blunt head overhung. Rough, leathery plates covered the crown of his skull and nape of his neck. His features were flat and brutish, almost prehistoric. The thing wore light colored armor with a glowing light in the center of its chest. He had no visible nose or ears and his eyes were small and set wide on either side of his head, though they gleamed at Paterson with a malicious astuteness.

"Jesus Christ! What the fuck are you?" Paterson exclaimed.

The dinosaur-like creature made a series of grunts and growls. It sounded like a rhino having a seizure. Then it clasped its three fingered hands together and began to charge at Paterson.

Paterson gathered himself and grabbed what looked like a propane tank. When the alien came close to him, he grabbed the tank and swung it across the creature's face. The creature staggered a bit, but continued to make the charge against Paterson. He swung the tank again and he kept striking the creature's face. The thing began to stagger, but it was getting more and more angry. The creature grabbed the tank away from Paterson and threw it behind itself.

Then the creature aimed another charge against Paterson, so he had to improvise. As the dinosaur-like creature came close enough, he grabbed a hold on the side from the creature's armor, rolled on his back, and he placed his feet at the base of the creature's lower torso. He pushed his feet up and flipped the creature over by using the combination of momentum and the creature's massive body weight against it.

Paterson managed to flip this alien over and the alien landed on a desk. The desk collapsed under the weight of the dinosaur-like creature. Paterson took the opportunity to get up and he ran out of the room.

When Paterson ran for dear life, a couple of men wearing those black and white shirts, carrying strange rifles, pointed at Paterson. One acknowledged Paterson and yelled at him. "Get down on the ground! Now!"

Paterson realized that he had nowhere else to run. He breathed heavy and he simply placed his hands over his head and slumped to his knees. "Shit!" Was all he could say.

An elderly man wearing yellow armor had dragged a familiar man towards Paterson. It was Court. He was in a daze; Paterson probably didn't know that he had been slugged in the back of his head from some man's rifle butt. But now Court was mimicking Paterson's action by putting his hands behind his head and dropped to his knees.

Emerging from the crowd of men was another man wearing a dark armor around his body. He had short brown hair, broad face, and peculiar scar above his forehead. The armor had what looked like a logo on the upper left corner that said 'N7.'

"I'm sorry for all this, but you two wouldn't stand still." The man said.

"Who are you? Where are we?" Paterson asked the man.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions." The man said. "First off, I'm Commander Shepard and you're on the Normandy."

"Are we prisoners, Commander?" Court asked with the sound of defeat in his voice.

"No, you're not. You can put your hands down and come with us." Shepard told the sergeant as they approached the elevator. "But it is too dangerous for you to wander around without knowing where you are. We're going back to the medical bay and everything will be explained to..."

When Paterson and Court got up and followed Shepard back to the elevator, a door hissed open and a familiar woman with a shaved head comes charging out. She had revenge written on her face.

On the other end on the hallway, another familiar character came storming out. It was the same dinosaur-like creature that attempted to attack Paterson earlier.

Before either of the two could reach their intended targets, the elevator doors closed.

* * *

"Shit!" Jack could only scream. "Fuckin' get back here you cheap-shot pussy!"

"Where's that runt!" Grunt screamed. "I'll smash him!"

Suddenly Jack and Grunt were realizing that they had been attacked by one of those strangely dressed men.

Before the two powerhouses could conjure up a plan of revenge, another voice called to them. "What's twisting your tits?"

Both Jack and Grunt turned to see their resident bounty hunter Zaeed Massani talking to them both.

"Fuck off, scarface!" Jack snapped. "Those assholes came into my room through the ducts. I had one in my stasis field until the guy's sidekick jumped out of the hole and attacked me. Then when I was coming back at him, he slugs me!"

Zaeed's eyes widened when he hears that story.

Then Grunt told his story. "One of those runts came into my room. He asked me _what I was _and then I told him _I am Grunt. You come to my space without permission, now you must accept my challenge._ Then I charged him. He used one of those containers to hit my face a few times. When I took the container away from him, I charged him. Then the bastard managed to flip me over!"

Zaeed cracked a smile and shakes his head. "Bloody impressive. Not bad for a couple of time capsules."

"Fuck you!" Jack pointed at the old mercenary.

"You can't blame them." Zaeed said. "They didn't know where they were or know who you two are."

"The one looked at me like he hasn't seen a krogan before." Grunt told Zaeed.

"That's because he hasn't." Zaeed told the krogan. "Nor an alien for that matter. Didn't you know that those two were abducted by some salarian ship a long time ago?"

"How long were they out for?" Jack asked.

Zaeed smiled and was ready to answer the biotic felon and the tank bred krogan.

* * *

"A hundred and fifty-seven years!" Both Paterson and Court both said while they shook their heads in disbelief.

"I know this must be very shocking for you two." Shepard said to the men.

"You think?" Paterson snapped. "So the year is…is…"

"The year is 2185." Court said after he did a quick math assessment in his head. "Everyone and everything we know is gone."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but you were in stasis when we found you." Shepard said. "A salarian ship to be exact."

"Salarian?" Court questioned. "What's a salarian."

"A highly intelligent amphibious race." Shepard explained.

Paterson looked up. "Wait. Do they have big heads, big eyes, and weird horns on their heads?"

Shepard looked slightly amazed at the man's description of the alien species. "Yes. How did you know?"

"Yeah, how?" Court asked his friend.

"When we were on board that UFO." Patterson tried to contain the memory of the terror. "I woke up. That was until that creature you called a salarian had me lying down on a table. It… it…"

When the door slid open, another alien came walking through. This alien had the same striking features as described by Paterson.

Paterson leapt from his seat and pulled back away from the creature. "Aahhh! That's it! That's the creature!"

"What?" Shepard asked.

"This is what took us!" Paterson stood back pointing at the alien while standing next to Court.

The alien had reddish brown skin, a white suit with red trimmings, and a strange circular device which seem to wrap around its neck. It had the big eyes and big elongated head. One of the horns seems to be missing from this being's head. The alien began to talk, but to Paterson and Court's ears it sounded like it was gargling a mouthful of marbles in rapid speed.

"What is it saying?" Court asked while in a panic.

"I don't know?" Paterson said.

"Stop." Shepard looked at the two confused soldiers. "Let me activate the translator function."

Shepard raised his left hand. Paterson noticed an orange light appear around his left arm. He touched the orange screen and then he looked at the alien. "Dr. Solus. They can understand you now."

"Thank you, Shepard." The alien now known to Paterson and Court as Dr. Solus. "I apologize if my appearance frightens you. Sergeant Paterson and Sergeant Court. Please I am not here to harm you. I'm only here to check up on your health."

"Bullshit!" Paterson snapped. "I've seen what one of your kind does! You took us away from our home!"

"I'm afraid that wasn't me." The salarian said. "That research vessel that took you two away from Earth had full intentions of returning you back to where they found you. The ship lost its control and drifted into space."

"Whatever salamander." Paterson said. "Just stay the hell away from us."

The salarian then looked at Shepard. "Shepard. I will be in the lab continuing our research. Much to discuss you have with the sergeants." The salarian left the medical bay.

"Are you two alright?" Shepard asked.

"I just… it's been a long day." Paterson said as he slumps his head over. "So to speak."

"Where do we stay?" Court asked. "What do we do?"

"Right now you both can stay on the port observation deck." Shepard said. "It's just right around the corner. You two can wait there while Kelly Chambers comes by. She's the resident psychiatrist and she's going to help you with coping with this new environment."

"We'll find our way, but I must ask you Commander?" Paterson inquired a question.

"Yes." Shepard responded.

"You're a Commander of a military, right?" Paterson said. "American or Canadian military? Because your accent suggests that you are from North America."

"Neither. I'm called a _spacer_. It means I was born on a spaceship and traveled in starships for most of my life. I'm a Commander from what is called the Human Systems Alliance." Shepard gave a moment of thought. "Actually, I'm currently not in the Alliance. Technically I'm dead. I've been out for two years and a lot has changed. I somewhat know how you two feel, but nothing in comparison to what you two must have gone through. This organization is responsible for bringing me back to life."

"Then what is this organization?" Court asked.

"It's called Cerberus." Shepard told the Sergeant.

"Cerberus?" Paterson asked. "What's Cerberus?"

"The three headed dog." Court answered. "Guardian of Hades in Greek mythology. Also stood guard in the gluttonous level of Hell in Dante's Inferno."

"And now the name of an organization that promotes human advancement, but it's nothing more than a terrorist organization that promotes human supremacy." Shepard told the two sergeants.

"Human supremacy?" Court eyes narrowed. "But we just saw, what? Two aliens."

"Three." Paterson said. "There's a dinosaur looking creature down below."

"That's Grunt." Shepard said. "He's a krogan."

"A krogan?" Paterson shakes his head. "Why did it attack me?"

"Krogan pride I guess. I heard about that." Shepard smiled. "I heard you outmaneuvered his charge and knocked him on his ass. He's supposed to be a perfect specimen of his warrior race and you flipped him over that desk. You definitely have military training."

"Then who was that bald chick I had to rescue from Paterson?" Court asked. "And what was that levitation stuff she was doing?"

"That's Jack." Shepard answered. "That levitation she was doing was called _biotics_. It's a form of telekinesis. She's also a felon and a huge temper to match."

"I've noticed." Paterson added.

Court spoke with a hint of concern in his voice. "I had to rescue him, but if she's as powerful as you say and if I really pissed her off…"

"I'd stay away from those two for a while if I were either one of you." Shepard said.

"Then what was that bird-like alien we saw looking at us earlier?" Paterson asked.

"That was Garrus Vakarian." Shepard said. "He's a turian. You'll meet him later."

"Now wait a minute." Court stopped Shepard. "Now you said that you were in some death-like coma for two years and this organization woke you up. This organization has a reputation for being human supremacists, but you seem to dislike these people you work for. And you have aliens working for these human supremacists here on this ship. What is the reason for all this?"

Shepard grabbed a chair and sat down, implying the two sergeants to do the same. "You see the coma was not death-like. I was dead. I was revived by what was called project Lazarus. It was designed to bring me back to life. This organization is the only one concerned for the abduction of human colonies that reside outside the jurisdiction of Alliance space. They fitted this state-of-the-art ship called the Normandy with crew members that were originally former Alliance service members and these aliens are specialists in their field. To be honest, this mission is under my control and Cerberus is only funding this mission. So far the only loyal supporter of Cerberus is this ship's XO Miranda Lawson."

"What is the mission?" Patterson asked.

"Human colonies are disappearing." Shepard explained. "They are being taken by a race called the Collectors."

"What are Collectors?" Patterson asked.

Shepard responded. "A strange and mysterious race that nobody seems to know about, yet they keep taking humans for reasons unknown."

"Two years?" Court asked. "Such a commitment to one man. What is so special about you?"

The door opens and a curvy brunette woman wearing a skintight jumpsuit walks in the medical bay. She must've been listening to the conversation and she decided to answer Court's question with a soft Australian accent. "Commander Shepard's actions gained humanity recognition among the alien races two years ago."

"Speak of the devil." Shepard looked behind himself a saw the woman coming through. "Miranda. How long have you been listening to our conversation?"

"Enough." Miranda said. "Now what you both don't realize those two years ago, Commander Shepard and his crew of the original Normandy was hunting a rouge turian agent named Saren Arterius. Saren was called a Spectre, an enforcer of laws that represent Council space. Shepard became the first human Spectre."

"Spectre?" Court looked confused. "You mean you're a James Bond villain?"

"What?" Miranda looked confused.

"Never mind my friend." Paterson said. "He's trying to be funny. What's a Spectre?"

Shepard takes over the conversation. "Spectres are agents entrusted with extraordinary authority by the Citadel Council, including the power of life and death over the inhabitants of the galaxy. They form an elite group selected from a number of different species, and their primary responsibility is to preserve galactic stability by whatever means necessary. Though they are generally considered as being above the law and have complete discretion as to the methods used to accomplish their mission, an individual's status as a Spectre can be revoked by the Council in a case of a gross misconduct. Spectres work either alone or in small groups according to nature of a particular task and to their personal preference. The word Spectre is a syllabic abbreviation of _Special Tactics and Reconnaissance._"

"Fascinating." Paterson said. "So what did this rouge Spectre do?"

Miranda continued. "Saren went rouge when he attacked the planet of Eden Prime with an army of sentient machines called geth. He was assisted by another sentient machine race called the Reapers. Their mission was to infiltrate the Citadel and open a mass relay allowing the other Reapers to enter our galaxy and destroy all life through a Prothean device called the Conduit."

Paterson and Court were now just plain confused. They didn't know what this woman was talking about.

"Geth and Reapers?" Court just blurted out.

"Prothean and mass relay?" Paterson spoke out.

"Yeah and what's the Conduit and what is this Citadel you're talking about?" Court asked again.

Shepard decided to wrap it up. "Long story short, I lead my team to stop Saren and prevented the Citadel from falling to… Saren's control. I became the hero of the Citadel. Then a month later, I was killed by one of these Collector ships when they destroyed the original Normandy. Cerberus found my body and revived me to stop the Collectors."

"Okay that made a little more sense." Paterson said. "Do you have internet access in this Portside Observation room you're providing for us?"

"You mean the extranet." Miranda corrected Paterson. "Yes. Just follow me sergeants."

Miranda walked away while Court couldn't help but gawk at the sultry body leaving the room.

"Check that ass, out." Court quietly told Paterson. "And I heard Australian women are a real handful, too. I had an uncle who served in the Navy said he had to make a port stop in Australia one time and he said the women were…"

"Shut up. I get your point." Paterson shakes his head in annoyance. "Let's go to our room and try to catch up on current events."

"Yeah." Court shrugged away the frustration on not being able to tell his story and began to move towards the door.

Both Paterson and Court followed Miranda to one end of the ship and she opened the sliding door. She stopped and extended an open hand to guide the two men inside. They walked in and looked around their surroundings. They walked up to what looked like shutters. Paterson was curious and hit the button on his right side. The shutters slowly opened and the sight before them was shocking. They were standing before the vast emptiness of space. Glowing stars whizzing past as they just stood awestricken from the impressive sight.

"Wow." Paterson said. "We really are in space."

"I know." Court just comprehended the thought.

"Well, let's get busy." Paterson told his friend.

"Right." Court replied. "How do we get our information from this… extranet?"

"I can assist you." The same electronic voice announced and a holographic blue ball showed itself before the two men.

"Great, it's Hal again." Court snickered.

"My name is EDI and not this Hal you've mentioned before." EDI told the men. "My name is an acronym which means Enhanced Defense Intelligence."

"Thank you, uh… EDI." Court replied. "Can you give me history information from 2028 to now?"

"Of course Sergeant Court." EDI said. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to start with the Korean War." Court stated.

"Specify which one." EDI said. "The First Korean War from 1950 to 1953 or the Second Korean War from 2025 to 2028?"

"The Second one." Court told the machine. "Starting from September 23rd, 2028."

Court takes a seat and Paterson does the same thing as the feminine computer voice tells them the list of events that followed from the day that changed their lives forever.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:

_I do not own the Mass Effect series or Homefront._

**MEMORIES OF THE HOMEFRONT**

**CHAPTER 3  
**

* * *

Commander John Shepard entered the CIC. When the elevator opened, yeoman Kelly Chambers stood behind the door. She was pleased to see Shepard since she had news to tell him.

"Commander?" Kelly said. "I would like to tell you that I'm ready to talk to our two newest guests and you have a message from Councilor Anderson."

"I guess it's a better time now than any." Shepard as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm going to plot a course to the Citadel. We also have to pick up a new recruit according to the Illusive Man's dossier." Shepard looked at Kelly. "Just let me know what you find out from Sergeant Paterson and Sergeant Court."

"Yes, Commander." Kelly smiled and stepped into the elevator.

Shepard decided to walk up to the cockpit and tell Joker himself to plot a course for the Citadel. When Shepard approached the cockpit, he saw two Cerberus crewmen hovering over Joker as they were watching the monitors. From the sound the three men, they were incredibly amused with what they were seeing.

"Ah hem." Shepard made a sound in his throat to call attention to his presence. The two crewmen turned around and stood at attention. "Back to your posts." Shepard ordered the two men and they hurried past Shepard. "Joker, I need for you to plot a course to the Citadel and what are you watching?"

"Oh, nothing." Joker tried to act innocent.

"Joker, if you're checking out asari porn…" Shepard said.

"Relax, Commander." Joker swiveled his chair around and raised his hands in a stopping motion. "It's not what you think. It's footage from earlier."

"From where?" Shepard asked.

"One from below the engineering deck and the other from port cargo room." Joker said as he swiveled back around to face the control panel. "Here, let me play it back and I'll show you."

Joker activated the surveillance feed. The first feed started when Jack was sitting on her cot when she noticed a leg coming down from the shaft. She ducked behind a crate for a minute when the figure jumped down from the duct. The man was now known to the ship as Sergeant Paterson. Paterson looked around and looked back up at the duct. He was talking to someone, but there was no noise.

"EDI, is there any audio on the surveillance feeds in the cargo and engineering decks?"

"Negative, Shepard." EDI's blue ball appeared and told him.

"Check this part out, Commander." Joker pointed to the screen.

Jack stood up from behind the crate and she caught Paterson's attention. Then Paterson was trapped in Jack's biotic stasis field. The look on Paterson's face was of pure terror. Then another figure leaped down from the duct and kicked Jack away from Paterson. It was Sergeant Court and he quickly stood up. When Jack was about to attack Court, Court punched her out.

"Damn." Joker said. "Now here's the one in Grunt's room."

The next image was Grunt back turned away from the port cargo door while he was doing some work on his tank. Grunt heard the door open and he saw Sergeant Paterson hiding behind the door. Then Paterson turned around and the shock in his eyes that it was obvious Paterson never seen a krogan before. Grunt turned his back from the surveillance camera and was now facing Paterson. The two were staring at one-another for a few seconds, until Grunt charged the hapless Sergeant. Then Paterson quickly pulled out an oxygen tank and used it as a melee weapon. He managed to strike three blows to the krogan's head before it was taken away and tossed aside. Then Grunt charged again, but this time Paterson managed to grab a hold of Grunt's armor and rolled him over. Grunt's body flew into the metal shelves behind Paterson. Then Paterson exited the room.

"Damn again." Joker said shaking his head. "First day awake and those two manage to piss off the two most dangerous people on this ship. Possibly in the galaxy. I didn't expect two guys from a hundred years ago capable of taking out a psychotic biotic and a genetically modified krogan."

"Why not?" Shepard countered Joker's statement. "Hand to hand combat methods hasn't changed much for more than two hundred years. Besides, these two soldiers are veterans of the Second Korean war."

"Really?" Joker looked at Shepard with disbelief. "I would like to meet those guys. How often do you get to meet someone from one of the biggest wars in human history?"

"You might get your chance." Shepard said. "I'm going to see if these men are willing to join my fight against the Collectors."

"Wait, hold on a second." Joker swiveled his chair around to face Shepard. "You want these guys to join us? What for?"

"I need people who are not Cerberus." Then Shepard looked at the blue ball which is EDI. "But I'm going to give them a choice, because I won't force them to stay with me, but I don't want to pass up valuable assets. That's all I can really say right now." Shepard shifted his eyes towards the A.I. and immediately Joker understood.

Shepard continued. "But first, plot a course for the Citadel. I'm going to see what I can do with Admiral Hackett and Councilor Anderson about Sergeant Paterson and Sergeant Court. I want to talk to them about adding them to the galactic registry and have Miranda set those two up with Omni-tools. That'll be all."

"See ya, Commander." Joker swiveled his chair back. When he was sure that Shepard was far away from the cockpit, Joker discreetly activated a screen. The screen's sound was emitting female lustful moaning.

"That is not appropriate work material, Mr. Moreau." EDI chimed in.

Joker just looked at EDI's blue ball and just scoffed at her presence.

* * *

"So how did the invasion of Korea commence?" Court asked EDI.

"The invasion never occurred during the date you have given, Mr. Court." EDI said. "As it turned out, the alliance between the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union caused a stir among the eastern powers of Korea, People's Republic of China, and Japan."

Court looked confused. "Japan?"

EDI explained. "China agreed to an alliance with the Korean People's Republic since China blamed the United States for the economic downturn prior to the Second Korean War. Also, Japan's government was occupied by the Korean armed forces so Japanese forces were conscripted to fight along with China and Korea. The combined forces moved westward and invaded the European continent."

"Oh wow." Paterson shakes his head. "Then what?"

"The war had evolved from the Second Korean War into the Third World War." EDI said. "The most decisive battle during the war was during the battle for London, Great Britain."

"Who won the battle if I may ask?" Court politely asked.

"The battle was won by the western allied forces." EDI said.

Court and Paterson cracked a smile. Paterson pats his hand over his friend's back and they felt the absolute joy that it was their side that won the war.

EDI continued. "The eastern forces were driven back and lost control of the war effort when citizens of Japan started a series of violent protests which led to open revolt against the Korean backed government that ruled Japan."

"So in short, the war ended with us victorious?" Paterson asked.

"That is correct, Mr. Paterson." EDI said.

"This is great." Court said.

"Sort of." Paterson's mood went from happy to a hint of sadness. "I mean it was a war like none other. It was one of the most defining moments in human history. And we missed it."

"What?" Court couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What are you talking about?"

"Court." Paterson takes a deep breath. "We were on our way to San Fran to get set up and launch a campaign against Korea. Since those monsters stepped on our shores and did whatever the hell they want to our land and our people, we were going to punish them. We were going to finally get back at those parasites and we missed it. We missed the chance."

Court looked at his friend's disposition. He looks around and notices the odd color liquid filled glasses that occupied the shelves. He pulls one of the glasses and opened the cylinder shaped glasses. He takes a nose full of the liquid and it dawned to him that it's alcohol. He picks up an empty glass and pours some of the content into the glass and thinks to himself _Smells like bourbon._

He gives the glass to Paterson. "Here, drown your sorrows."

The moment Paterson takes the glass; he contemplates downing it in one big gulp. Then right before he can feel the warmth of the spirit down his throat, they hear a woman screaming. "Wait!"

The two men froze in place and they see a woman with short red hair standing by the entrance and she pointed to the glass Paterson was drinking from.

"You didn't drink that yet, did you?" The woman asked with a hint of concern. "Which bottle did you use?"

Court pulled out the bottle he used and showed her. "It's only bourbon."

"No!" The woman said. "It's not bourbon. It's turian whiskey."

"So, that's bad?" Paterson asked.

"Humans are a levo-based species." The woman explained. "Turians are dextro-based. If you drink that, you'll swell up in an allergic reaction and possibly die."

Court takes the drink away from Paterson and sets it back down on the counter. "If it's poisonous to humans, why do you have it?"

"Ever since we recruited Garrus, the turian we have on board, we ordered some food and beverages for his intake." The redhead explained. "He can't eat our food either so we provide subsidence for his needs."

"Sorry, buddy." Court looked at Paterson with apologetic eyes.

Paterson just nods at his friend. Then he turns his attention towards the redhead. "Who are you?"

"Oh, pardon me." The redhead said as she approached the two men. She extends her hand for a handshake. "I'm Kelly Chambers. I'm Commander Shepard's yeoman."

"I see." Court nods his head.

"Alright..." Paterson takes a skeptical look at the woman. "What can we do for you that require a yeoman's work?"

Kelly smiles softly and looks at the two. "Actually, yeoman is my official title on the ship. I'm actually a psychiatrist."

When she confessed her profession, Paterson and Court became a little bit on edge. Court was the first to ask. "I'm going to take a guess here, but you want to know how we're doing since we woke up? See if we're up to speed and not freaking out or anything?"

Kelly shifts her eyes to the side. "Well, that's the idea. My job is to monitor the mental health of the crew since we are about to undergo a high stress mission. What I got from the reports is that you both are used to the high stress of combat. Maybe if you aren't comfortable with discussing your arrival to this century, maybe you would prefer talking about your experience from the war you fought? Maybe we can talk about each of you? Oh, I know. Tell me how you two know each other. Where did you first met?"

The two sergeants take a seat while looking at each other. Then they look at Kelly. Paterson nodded to Court in a suggestive manner to go first.

"Well, I was born on November 5th, 2002." Court cringed at the thought of the longevity from the day he was born. "I was born in Wisconsin and I went to school there. I earned a two-year degree and I was trying to get my Bachelor Associates when I went to school in Denver, Colorado. That's was when the Koreans attacked. I managed to escape when the first wave of paratroopers came around. I tried to get back to my home state, but the Koreans radiated the Mississippi River and I didn't know where to go at that point."

"Wait right there." Paterson holds out his hand. "I know where this story is going, but let me put in my intro before you do. I was born April 10th, 2001 and I grew up on a farm in Idaho. My parents got involved with para-military groups… you know. Militias. Anyway, I basically had been taught about defending your own nation in case the _big bad U.S. government_ was going to take away the basic rights of Americans." He made air quotes.

"Guess your family was right about that, just that it was not the _U.S_. government that tried to take away our rights." Court snickered.

Paterson frowned and continued his story. "Anyway, when I turned eighteen I became a truck driver. Operating those big rigs. I was going to drop off a shipment in Kansas when the NOKs activated their EMP satellite. My truck was inoperable and my survivalist training took over. I tried to find the nearest building and find out what has happened, but I was out in the field for a day. Then I found a gas station and found someone hiding inside the backroom."

* * *

**April 10****th**** 2025**

Timothy Paterson was tired. He lost his truck from the bright flash he saw a day ago. He must've been walking for twenty miles without any food or water. He hasn't seen a living soul since he passed through Boulder the night before. On top of that he hasn't had the chance to change out of his clothes in two days; his _Metalica_ t-shirt was starting to smell foul. He was having the worst birthday of his life.

A shred of hope came to him when he saw a sign for a gas station. He moved faster when the building came closer and closer. When he got to the first gas pump, he noticed the front door was pried open. Tim instinctively pulled out his Colt 1911 and investigated the door. He knew it was a possibility that someone was inside. A normal person would call the police and tell the authorities that someone broke in, but this wasn't a normal time. Against better judgment and driven by hunger, he went inside.

He saw the shelves of food, still untouched. He fought the temptation to open up a candy bar and he remembers to stay alert. Right now he's thankful for the training his parents forced upon him.

To his shock, Tim heard some chatter in the back room. The chatter sounded more like a radio broadcast rather than someone talking in the back room. He quietly approached towards the door where the sound was coming from and as he is about to open the door. "Hello." The voice behind the door said. "Is there anyone out there?"

Tim froze for a moment, but continued to press forward. He slowly opens the door and sees a man wearing a black sweater jacket and brown wavy hair. He was trying to use an old CB radio.

"I repeat. Is there anyone out there to respond to this call?" The man spoke into the receiver.

"Hold it." Tim said and the man literally jumped out of his seat.

The man was now sitting on the floor and his eyes widened when he see another stranger pointing a gun at him. He held up his hands and said. "I'm sorry sir! I didn't take anything! I just needed to know what was going on! Please don't kill me!"

Tim realized what he was doing and he tucked his gun away, behind his pants. Then Tim tries to comfort the man. "Calm down, alright! I'm not gonna hurt you."

"But you're the owner of this store, right?" The shaking man asked.

"No, I'm just a truck driver." Tim calmly explains himself. "My rig broke down when that bright flash came. I don't know what's going on. Do you know what's going on?"

The man just nods as he slowly stood up. He looks at Tim and says. "That bright flash you saw was an EMP or Electromagnetic Pulse. If any electrical devices are on during a pulse, it will fry out the circuits. This CB radio was off when I turned it on, that's why it still works. I was just trying to get back home to Wisconsin after the pulse went off."

Tim looked at the radio. "Well, did you get anyone?"

"A few people." The man said. "They said that the Mississippi river had just been contaminated with radiation and paratroopers are falling from the sky."

"What?" It was Tim's turn to have the wide eyed surprise. "Who?"

"The Korean Army." The man said with slight panic in his voice. "We're being invaded."

Tim just stood back and just absorbed the information. He placed his hands over his face and shakes his head.

The man then calmly asks Tim a question. "Excuse me. What's your name?"

Tim snapped out of his trance and plainly states. "Tim. Timothy Paterson."

"I'm Jonathan Court." The man extends his right hand out for a handshake. Tim weakly shakes Jonathan's hand. "Are you hungry?"

**Two hours later**

Tim was eating the food like he hasn't eaten in weeks. Jonathan ate alongside the truck driver, but barely a word was spoken. To both these men, they were hoping that this was a nightmare and hopefully they will wake up any minute now.

"Say, Jonathan." Tim said to break up the awkward silence. "We can't stay here for long. If the Koreans are here like you say they are, they're going to be rounding up people. We have to take what we need."

"But where will we go?" Jonathan asked. "We can't cross the Mississippi and the enemy is all around us."

"I don't know." Tim shakes his head as he stood up. He walks behind the counter and searches around. Then he nods approvingly when he spots something. "We'll need weapons."

"You only have that gun." Jonathan said. "What am I going to use?"

"You can use this." Tim pulls out a shotgun from behind the counter. "It's a pump action Remington. Do you know how to use one?"

"No." Jonathan shakes his head. "I never fired a gun in my life."

Tim looks at the man and places the shotgun on the counter. Then he pulls out his Colt 1911 places it next to the shotgun. "Come here. I'll show you how it's done."

**One hour later**

Tim gave Jonathan a crash course in firearms training such as loading, reloading, aiming, and the proper ways of holding a firearm. Tim decided to let Jonathan carry the shotgun while Tim kept ready with his pistol in hand. They found bags and loaded them up with non-perishable food and water.

Jonathan stopped. "Hey Tim? I should tell you about myself. I'm a college student back in Denver and I came across many people who were part of an anti-Korean aggression group. I just happen to be a part of that group. If they round up my fellow members, they'll know who I am and I will be taken away. Probably killed."

"Oh, shit!" Tim just made a realization. "I left my truck back there and when they look at my truck tags, they'll try to find me. They won't be able to register me personally and probably declare me a danger."

"Yeah, but you got the training." Jonathan said. "You could easily survive on your own, but what about us? There must be other people you could help. An hour ago I couldn't figure out how to use a gun without shooting myself in the foot, but now I know what to do. Imagine what you could show to at least a dozen people?"

Tim gave it some thought and takes a deep breath. He looks at Jonathan. "We can't get to safety and we are potential targets. And you are right, because there is safety in numbers. The cargo I was carrying is mostly camping gear. If we can get some gear out of that truck, we can use it and make a camp outside the cities."

Jonathan looks over Tim's shoulder. "What about that pick-up truck? We can carry a lot of stuff with a truck bed."

"It's not working." Tim said. "You said it yourself… that EMP? Yeah that EMP caused all electrical devices to get fried."

"No, I said all electrical devices that were activated during the pulse got fried." Jonathan walked over to the old Chevy truck. "If this truck still works, we can get back to Boulder or Denver a lot quicker and start recruiting people."

The two walk over to the truck. Tim opens the door and searches for the key. He finds it tucked in the sun visor and places the key into the ignition. Both Tim and Jonathan were crossing their fingers and held their breath. Tim turns the key and by miracle, the engine turned over. Both men were smiling and they drove off.

"By the way, Tim." Jonathan said. "Happy birthday."

* * *

"That was the first time we met." Paterson said as he was finishing the story. "It was a necessary relationship at the time. I had the training and survivalist skills while Court had the college educated mind to make plans and solve problems."

"I figured that the two of us would've never gotten along if the KPA didn't invade." Court smiles and he continues. "You know the scary thing is that I think we are becoming more and more accustomed to these kinds of surprises. First the Korean Army is invading your nation. Now we get abducted by aliens and wake up in the year 2185. Gotta have thick skin to handle shit like that."

The door opens and the familiar alien Paterson and Court saw from the med bay. The two soldiers leapt, but they were not as shocked as they had been earlier when they woke up. They both knew that this alien was called a turian and his name is Garrus.

Kelly wasn't fazed by his presence. She turned around to look at him and asked. "Garrus. Are they ready yet?"

The avian being responded in clicks and hisses. Paterson and Court didn't know what he was saying, but it would seem that Kelly understood everything.

"Wonderful." She turns around and smiles at the two soldiers. "Garrus has something for you two."

Garrus approached Paterson and gives him what looks like an incredibly skinny ring. "What is it?"

"It's an Omni-tool and that one is encoded to your DNA." Kelly spoke. "Not to mention that it comes with a universal translator so you can understand Garrus."

Court put on his Omni-tool and asked. "How does it work?"

Garrus spoke up. "Try lifting your left arm up."

Paterson and Court leapt back again, but surprised by the sound of his voice. He was speaking english, but the tone had a resonance which sounds like it was echoing through metal.

"Oh, wow." Paterson was now amazed to understand what the turian is saying.

"Oh, wow!" Court lifted up his left arm and noticed it was covered by a holographic orange light.

"You will need for a multitude of tasks in the future from identification to money transactions. I also wanted to remind you three that we'll be arriving at the Citadel in thirty minutes." Garrus said then he approached the bar. He grabs the glass and sniffs the alcoholic content. "Who was the brave one attempting to drink this whiskey?"

"That'll be my fault." Court confessed. "I didn't know the difference between dextro and levo until Kelly told us."

"Glad she got here when she did." Garrus downs the drink in one gulp.

"If you don't mind, I would like to walk around a bit." Paterson stood up and slid out of the room.

Kelly stood up. "We'll call it a day for now, but we'll pick this up tomorrow and talk some more."

Kelly walked out of the room and it left Court and Garrus alone. Court stood up and tried to think of something to break the awkward silence. In his nervous tone he introduced himself. "Uh, hi. I'm… I'm Jonathan Court."

Garrus looks at Court and extends his right hand for a handshake. "Garrus Vakarian. I hope you're doing alright since waking up?"

"Honestly, I've had better days." Court walks behind the counter and looks for another bottle. He pulls out a bottle written in english. It was scotch and showed the bottle to Garrus. "Is this stuff safe for me?" Garrus nods and Court moves around the counter and takes a seat.

"I'll tell you what." Garrus grabs the bottle from Court and walks behind the counter. He opens the bottle and pours the soldier a glass. "You could talk to a psychiatrist about your coping with this new reality. Or you can tell the bartender all of your woes."

Court smiled and raises his glass up. "Well, tell me about Shepard?"

* * *

Shepard was strolling around the CIC, wearing his N7 armor and preparing for the Normandy to dock on the Citadel. This was a big change, because he remembers all the times he docked the SR1 Normandy on the Citadel two years ago when he was chasing after Saren. This time was different. It was a new ship, although similar in design, but it wasn't an Alliance vessel. It was a vessel attached to Cerberus and it didn't seem right for a ship bearing the name of the ship that was responsible for stopping Saren and the unleashing of the Reapers in the galaxy.

Now Shepard was about to make his grand return from his death two years ago when the original Normandy was attacked by the Collector ship. Now he was returning from the dead with a Cerberus funded crew along with two combat operatives, a seasoned mercenary, a biotic convict, a tank born krogan, and an A.I. onboard. At least he had Garrus back and not to mention the two additional soldiers that happen to be veterans of the Second Korean war.

Just as Shepard was thinking about the two soldiers, the elevator doors open. Paterson and Kelly stepped out. Paterson just walked about while Kelly stood at her post.

Shepard walked up to the yeoman and asked. "So how did the session go?"

Kelly turned around and answered. "Surprisingly well, giving the circumstances. Sergeant Court is taking the transition well, but I have yet to determine what the situation may be with Staff Sergeant Paterson."

"What do you mean?" Shepard raised his eyebrow.

"I had them open up with a story and they told me when the two men met." Kelly said. "They met the day after the initial attack from the Greater Korean Republic and they seem to have been inseparable ever since as if they are dependent on one-another for their strengths and weaknesses."

Shepard nods in agreement. "It's the classic _brothers in arms_ code one develops when serving in combat situations. Those two have been through a lot and that's not counting the years they were locked away in stasis. So what could be troubling Paterson?"

"We'll I had EDI feed me the information about Paterson and Court." Kelly looks around to make sure nobody was listening to the conversation. "I wanted to know what I was dealing with before I had a chance to talk to both of them so I had EDI feed me the conversation between the two men and it would appear that Court is pleased of the entire outcome of historical events. It would seem that he is willing to pick up with his life before the war, despite the circumstances and he's willing to learn about this new reality."

"That's nice to know." Shepard said.

"Paterson however was more upset that he didn't partake in the latter half of the war when the Second Korean war transformed into World War Three." Kelly solemnly states. "He seemed to be a soldier at heart and when he fought for the resistance, it brought out what he felt what he was meant for. He now has the illusion that he is lost and no longer has purpose. A dedicated soldier who felt that he has abandoned his post despite the situation."

"A true soldier at heart." Shepard said. "Just like Williams."

"You mean Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, Commander?" Kelly asked.

Shepard nods while rubbing his chin. "If he is dedicated as you say he is and felt that he was denied the chance to make a difference, then he'll like our mission." Now he was looking around to see if anyone was listening. Then he quietly spoke while typing on his Omni-tool. "I'm going to see Councilor Anderson personally. I already told him about Paterson and Court. Perhaps he could reinstate Paterson into the Alliance?"

"What about Court?" Kelly asked.

"Like you said, he seemed happy to have that war behind him and willing to move on with his life." Shepard said. "But, he's also entitled to choose for himself." After Shepard sent the message, he nods approvingly and walks back to the elevator. "It's done. I hope this works for both of them. If Anderson writes back, I'll take it up in my cabin."

* * *

Paterson walked towards what everyone called the cockpit of the ship. He was curious about the inside of the ship and it dawned to him that this is so much like those old episodes of _Star Trek_ he heard about when he was a kid, except the Captain was standing over a large holographic projection and not sitting in some large chair. The only one sitting in a large chair was a man wearing a ball cap and he was sporting a reddish-brown beard.

Paterson looked closer at the man operating the controls and then the man jerked to the side with shock that someone was standing next to him. "Ahhh! Don't sneak up on me, buddy." Then the bearded man saw who the man was. "Oh, you're that guy we rescued from the salarian ship."

Paterson realized that he was talking about him. He took it with a grain of salt. "Yeah, I guess I am. I'm Staff Sergeant Paterson."

"Jeff Moreau, but everyone calls me Joker." The man said and extends his hand to shake his hand. Then the man winced in some pain. "Ow, ow. Watch the hand."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know how much strength I was applying." Paterson apologized.

"No, no." Joker said. "It's not you. I have Vrolik's Syndrome. Brittle bone disease."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for your situation." Paterson said.

"Don't be, I learned to live with it." Joker said and the two remained quiet for a few seconds. Then Joker asked. "So is it true that you fought during the Second Korean war?"

Paterson was a bit hesitant to answer at first, but he answered honestly. "I did."

"What was it like?" Joker asked. "I mean I can only read about it in the history codex, but to talk to someone who had actually been there."

Paterson didn't answer. He just gave Joker a stern look. He didn't want to talk about the nightmare of the first two years of fighting, because to describe the Korean occupation of the Western United States would be like describing hell itself. People dying from disease and starvation. KPA soldiers shooting and beating suspected resistance members whether they were members or not. Soldiers shooting parents right in front of their own children. And for the worst image he had seen, open pits filled with the bodies of dead civilians.

"No comment." Paterson sternly said and dropped the hint that he didn't want to go any further with the conversation.

"What, I don't want to be the bad guy here." Joker tried to defend himself. "I was just curious."

Another flanged voice came from behind Paterson and Joker. "Joker. That's a question you should never ask a soldier, especially one who had seen combat." The voice belonged to the turian Paterson met earlier, Garrus. He was walking along side with Court.

Paterson realized that despite the fact that this being is not human, he realized that he has been a soldier once before and he understands the ugliness war brings out in a person.

Joker swiveled his chair around and looked at Garrus. Then he looks at Paterson. "I'm sorry. I guess my fascination got in the way."

"It's alright." Paterson nods and gently pats Joker on the shoulder. "It's something that can't be described with just words, but just pray to God that you never have to see it for yourself."

"Well, I have been getting to know Garrus here and he have been telling me a whole ton of shit in such short time." Court smiled. "He told me about this place called the Citadel."

"What's that?" Paterson said.

"It will be in view in a few seconds." Garrus said while pointing out in the cloudy nebula.

The Normandy skidded through the blue haze of the nebula until a fantastic view of a structure looking like a flower bulb blossoming. As the image approached, it was clear that this object glistening in space is massive.

"That's the Citadel?" Paterson said with his eyes wide out. "It's about the size of a major city. A moon."

Despite being in awe, Court couldn't resist responding to what his friend said. "_That's no moon. It's a space station_. Ha. I've always wanted to say that." Court snickered while Paterson was still mesmerized from the sight of the Citadel.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N:

_I do not own the Mass Effect series or Homefront._

**MEMORIES OF THE HOMEFRONT**

** CHAPTER 4  
**

* * *

Shepard couldn't wait anymore since they were about to dock on the Citadel. He was about to exit his private cabin when he received a notice on his personal e-mail account. He checked out the message board and found another letter from Councilor Anderson. It reads:

_Shepard,_

_ Again I am pleased to hear that you are alive, but I was a bit concerned when you mentioned these two 'displaced' soldiers. After I got your message, I looked up the names Paterson and Court. I found their records and made the arrangements you asked for and I had also informed Councilor Valern about the two men and he would like a word with them as well, but first things first. I want you to come down to the Human Embassy to have an audience with the rest of the Council. Hopefully we can reinstate your Spectre status. After our talk with the Council, we can discuss the situation with Paterson and Court. Write back to me as soon as you dock on the Citadel._

_V/R,_

_Councilor Anderson._

Shepard smiles and heads towards the ship's CIC.

* * *

Paterson and Court were waiting by the ship's airlock with Garrus. They were greeted by the ship's XO Miranda Lawson as she strolled up to the two men and the turian.

She looks at the two soldiers. "Well now. I suppose we'll have a chance to test out your new Omni-tools. You two should be registered in the Galactic Database so we shouldn't have any troubles."

"Why do we need the Omni-tools to get in?" Court asked.

"It's a form of registry when entering and leaving the Citadel." Miranda explained. "You can't enter the Citadel without proper I.D. If you two have troubles with the Omni-tool, just come back to the ship and I'll help fix whatever it is."

"Not going on shore leave with us?" Court asked.

"I have work to do." Miranda plainly states.

"All work no play, huh?" Court smiled. "Alright. Thank you for doing this for us, I couldn't…"

Paterson interrupted Court's train of thought "Oh, shit."

"What is it?" He looked at his friend.

"Your bald girlfriend is coming this way." Paterson points.

Court looked around Miranda and caught sight of a half-naked woman with a torso covered in tattoos. "Shit. When do we leave?"

Before Miranda could answer, another rough feminine voice came out. "Well, well, well. Isn't it Mr. Cheap-shot." Court knew she was talking directly to him, but didn't want to respond to her taunting. However, the girl didn't like to be ignored. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"That's enough, Jack." Miranda said.

"Cram it, cheerleader." The girl named Jack replied. "It's between me and this pussy."

Court wasn't having it anymore. One thing he hated more than anything was being called a coward, a chicken, or anything that would mark him as fearful.

"Oh, a pussy huh?" Court looked at the bald woman's hazel eyes. "You have a lot of balls to say that, especially when you're sporting a guy's name. Not to mention the haircut. Seriously, what's with the hair 'cue ball'? I look at you and think 'eight ball in the corner pocket.' What statement are you trying to make, butch?"

Garrus, Paterson, and Joker were watching the argument unfold like watching an accident happening. Some were opted to stop it, but it was quickly getting out of control.

Jack was getting steamed. "My looks and my name are my own; you only took me down when I had your boyfriend in a stasis field and then gave me a sucker punch! I should kick your sorry ass!"

"Yeah, real tough chick, aren't ya!" Court said sarcastically. "You rely on that blue voodoo magic to do the fighting for you! You probably can't hold up to a straight fight!"

"Enough!" A voice commanding intimidation and strength shouted above Jack and Court's shoutfest. It was Commander Shepard. "What's going on here?"

Naturally Jack and Court were quiet, but Miranda told Shepard everything. "Jack here was taunting Sergeant Court."

Shepard shakes his head and lets out a deep sigh. "Jack. I can't have you picking fights with others on this ship. This isn't prison and we're not a gang. I know you're mad from before, but I need you to stand aside for now."

"Fine." Jack pouted and pointed her finger at Court. "But this ain't over yet."

The airlock doors opened and Jack was the first one to leave. Shepard, Garrus, Paterson, and Court step out into the docks. Shepard felt odd being here again. To him he was on the Citadel a week ago, but in reality he has been gone for two years. Garrus also felt weird, because the last time he was on the Citadel he had a falling out with his superiors at C-Sec and left for Omega to inadvertently become the vigilante known as Archangel.

Court and Paterson's response was much, much different. They were awestricken with the sights of the buildings, the technology, and the various species.

Court looks over at a corner and noticed two jelly fish like beings standing by a platform. He gestures to Paterson and points. "Hey, Tim. Check that out."

"What are they?" Paterson asked.

"Wait." Court replied as he activated his Omni-tool. "This thing has something called a Codex. It contains a ton of info with a flick of a wrist. Ah, here it is. _They are called 'hanar'. They are a jellyfish species from the ocean planet called Kahje. They speak in bioluminescence, they often start a sentence with the third person phrase 'this one', and they are overly polite_."

"Interesting." Paterson nods and another being catches his eyes. "Look at that big green bug lookin' thing over there. Since you got that Codex up, what is that?"

Court scrolled down and found what he was looking for. "That's called a keeper. _They are the indigenous species on this station. They are mysterious, because they do not communicate with other beings yet perform the tasks of maintenance around this station. They were discovered when the asari were the first to discover the Citadel_."

"The aliens just converge on a mysterious building in the depths of space with green bugs wandering around without caution, and then place a powerful government in the center of it all?" Paterson shakes his head. "Where's the paranoia?"

"They probably left it in Idaho." Court let out a small laugh.

Paterson gives his friend a nasty scowl. "You didn't seem to mind when the NOKs came. Then it was the paranoid ones who were the best prepared and having the last laugh. Ha ha ha. Hey, where's Shepard?" Paterson's attention was turned elsewhere.

"There he is." Court pointed him out. "Looks like he's talking to some tube with a video screen."

"I think the screen is talking back, because he's talking to some girl with a hood." Paterson takes a closer look. "I can't get a decent look at the face, but I think the conversation is over."

When Shepard and Garrus were done talking to the video, they walked over to the soldiers. "We're going to the Human Embassy to meet with Councilor Anderson and he's going to have a talk with you two. But before we do that, we have to register over with C-Sec over there." Shepard points to the door.

"C-Sec?" Paterson said in a questionable tone. "What's that?"

"Oh, Citadel Security." Shepard explained. "It's the station's police force."

"Yeah, I was once a part of C-Sec." Garrus added.

"Really?" Court eyes widened. "You used to be a cop? What happened?"

Garrus chuckled. "Maybe I'll tell you later, when we have some free time. Right now, we'll have to register with Captain Bailey."

The four walked into the C-Sec office, after having a slight problem with Shepard's Omni-tool registration on the fact that he was labeled "dead." They had more trouble when they ran Paterson and Court names through. The turian at the counter was flabbergasted when he found out that the two humans were roughly a hundred and eighty years old since they were not asari or krogan. Regardless of the situation, they went through and the three got their pass through a Captain Armando Bailey.

When they got the go-ahead, the four were looking around like tourists on vacation. Paterson and Court were looking at the various species walking around these halls.

Court saw two large reptilian creatures talking to each other. He pointed them out to Paterson, but he froze for a second when he recognized the two creatures.

"Hey, check out those guys. Let's see what they are." Court was looking through his Omni-tool again, but he was stopped by Paterson.

"Those are krogan." Paterson explained.

"You mean those are krogan?" Court looks at his friend. "You mean like the one you ran into below the ship?"

"Yeah." Paterson answered. "Look up krogan. What are they exactly? It wouldn't be fair to judge an entire race based off of one bad encounter."

"Unless they're KPA in disguise." Court quickly contradicted and looked up the word 'krogan'. "Here it is. _The krogan are a species of large reptilian bipeds native to the planet Tuchanka, a world known for its harsh environments, scarce resources, and overabundance of vicious predators. The krogan managed to not only survive on their unforgiving homeworld, but actually thrived in the extreme conditions. Unfortunately, as krogan society became more technologically advanced, so did their weaponry_."

"I have a feeling I know where this is going." Paterson noted.

Court continues reading. "_Four thousand years ago, at the dawn of the krogan nuclear age, battles to claim the small pockets of territory capable of sustaining life escalated into full scale global war. Weapons of mass destruction were unleashed, transforming Tuchanka into a radioactive wasteland. The krogan were reduced to primitive warring clans struggling to survive a nuclear winter of their own creation, a state that continued until they were discovered by the salarians two thousand years later._" Court's eyes widen. "They discovered nuclear power four thousand years ago? Damn. We humans were barely discovering the wheel and harnessing bronze around that time."

Paterson wasn't listening to his friend's personal input. He just asked. "What was that thing about the salarians?"

"Hold on." Court continues. "_With the help of the salarians, the krogan were uplifted into galactic society, and lent their numbers and military prowess to bring an end to the Rachni Wars. Ironically, after the rachni were eradicated, the rapidly-expanding krogan became a threat to the galaxy in turn, starting the Krogan Rebellions and forcing the turians to unleash the genophage. This genetic infection dramatically reduced fertility in krogan females, causing a severe drop in births secondary to prenatal and postnatal death and, ultimately, population, eliminating the krogan numerical advantage._ Oh my… God. That's… That's horrible."

"I don't know what to say." Paterson shakes his head. "Genophage? I mean what if the KPA did that to us during the occupation. I mean they weren't afraid to use incendiary flares as a method of riot control."

"Paterson. Court." A familiar voice called to them. They look over to where the voice is coming from. It was Shepard. He and Garrus approached the two. "We're ready to head to the Embassy. We're taking one of those taxis over there."

"Alright." Court nodded and the two men followed Shepard and Garrus.

Shepard used his Omni-tool and said it was to call for a taxi. While the four waited, Court wandered close to one of the same cylinder shaped imagers he saw earlier. Then he jumped when he heard a feminine voice call his name.

"_Jonathan Court, are you looking for a good time?_" Court quickly turned around to find where the voice was coming from. It was coming from the tube's screen. It looked like a woman, but her skin was blue and she had tendrils where her hair should be. "_Drinks from a hundred worlds? Games? Perhaps a little… companionship? The Dark Star. One level up. I'll see you there._"

Shepard and Garrus chuckled when they saw the look on Court's face. Court looked at the two and asked. "How did it know my name?"

"Those advertisements are tuned into your Omni-tool." Garrus explained. "When you pass by it close enough, they say your name to give it more of a personal touch."

"Isn't that a bit of an invasion of privacy?" Court said.

"Now who's being paranoid?" Paterson smiled.

"Anyway, what species was that girl?" Court was suddenly intrigued by the way she looked.

"That's an asari." Shepard answered. "A monogendered species, but they have an all-female appearance." Shepard suddenly remembered his conversation with Liara T'Soni back on the first Normandy when she was explaining her species. He shudders at the thought as another reminder of what he had lost.

"So they were the ones who discovered this Citadel, right?" Paterson asked.

"That's right." Garrus said.

"And when you mean _all-female_, you mean they have all the… you know?" Court asked while pointing to his crotch and chest area.

"Yes." Shepard nodded while giving the sergeant a half-hearted smile.

Court clapped his hands together and smiles widely. "Great. You guys head on over to the Embassy. I'll meet you later. The Dark Star is one level up, right?"

"We'll go later." Shepard said while pointing to a flying car-shaped vehicle approaching them. The doors opened like the wings of an outstretched bird and the vehicle was absent of a driver. "All three of us have to see Councilor Anderson. Pour in."

Shepard and Garrus sat in the front seat while Paterson and Court sat in the back. When the door closed, they felt themselves lift in the air like a helicopter at full speed. Then the car zipped through the Citadel at amazing speeds.

"Flying cars? Ha. Flying cars, man." Court looks at Paterson. "We are truly in the future."

Paterson was a bit unnerved when he saw the landscape around the vehicle. "I just hope big rig trucks are still driven on the ground."

* * *

After the fifteen minute ride through the space station, the group of four steps out. Shepard and Garrus were casually stepping out of the air car since they have done this sort of travel many times before, while Court was having the time of his life since he had always enjoyed flying since he was a kid. He remembers the plane trips to visit his grandmother in Oregon before the airline industry went belly-up during the financial crash of 2022. The air ride brought back fond memories.

Paterson however was just pleased to be out of the air car. Apparently flying makes him nervous since he had rarely flown in his entire life, despite the fact that he has been flying on a spaceship for the past week. He will never admit it, but the idea of heights just frightened him.

"Are you okay?" Shepard asked the shaking man.

"Yeah." Paterson shakes it off. "I never flew before, except one time when visiting my uncle in Utah. That was a bad experience."

"You didn't tell me that?" Court's curiosity forced him to ask his friend. "What happened?"

Paterson shakes his head. "I'll tell you later."

Shepard nods his head for the two men to follow him. He speaks while walking towards a flight of stairs. "Well, Garrus and I are going to see the Councilor first. We need for you two to stand outside the embassy doors for a few minutes. I have to take care of a few things."

"You got it, Shepard." Paterson nods as they arrived to their destination.

The door slid open and both Garrus and Shepard walk inside. Paterson and Court stood to outside and waited. They were quiet for a few minutes, but Court was the first to open up with the first topic. "What do you think of this place?"

Paterson shakes his head. "Honestly, intimidated. I never really visited a place like this, not even in our time. I mean back home, I never went to the big cities. The biggest city I visited was Boise."

"Wait a minute?" Court raised his hands. "You mean you never visited a major city when you were driving trucks for a living?"

"Not really." Paterson honestly answered. "When the financial crisis was hitting us hard, the trucking industry was taking a hard hit with the rise of fuel costs when Iran and Saudi Arabia were slugging it out. The railroad industry was taking all the cargo from major city to major city, so the trucking industry was forced to make deliveries from small town to small town. I didn't bother to get into the details of the work that was involved, because I was just happy to have a job. What about you, did you visit any big cities?"

"Of course." Court said with a smirk and uses his fingers to make a list of all the cities he visited. "Milwaukee, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, a couple of layovers in Atlanta, Washington D.C., and of course New York."

"Impressive." Paterson nods.

"Actually, New York was the most interesting." Court looked around and then it just dawned to him. "You know, that's what this place reminds me of. New York. You know, because New York was the central meeting place for people from around the world to converge in one place. Just like the Citadel. We have a huge gathering of different species from all over the galaxy. If the two places are similar to one another, I bet that there are places that cater to each species on this space station. Like if New York had Chinatown, Little Italy, Brighton Beach, and Little Tokyo. Then there must be places that cater to the turians, the asari, the krogan…"

Paterson interrupted. "Then what about us humans? What do they call that area where humans gather and live? Little Earth? Human town?"

"I guess we'll find out." Court said. "If Shepard gave us enough leave time, we can check out the Citadel…"

There was a sudden interruption. "Who are you men?"

Both Paterson and Court turned to see who was addressing them. The man who asked the question looked like he was in his fifties with stress marks crossing his face. He had grey hair, wore a white two piece suit, and a light purple turtleneck underneath the suit.

The two soldiers were caught off guard when they were approached by this elderly gentleman with a bulldozing attitude. They didn't know what to say, but the man forcibly asked again. "I asked you a question. Who are you two?"

Court gathered his bearings and his response was. "I'm Cheech. He's Chong." Court giggled slightly and even Paterson cracked a smile.

Apparently, the man didn't get the joke. "Alright then. What are you doing here? And what kind of outfit are those?" He pointed to their matching Army digital camouflage pants and tan t-shirts.

Paterson answered the man's question. "We were told to wait out here, because there is a meeting going on right now. Our outfits are a bit of a long story."

"Yeah, now would you kindly tell us who you are?" Court made a mock intimidating order.

The man wasn't amused when he glared back at Court. "I'm Ambassador Udina. I don't take kindly to smart-alecks! I could have you and your friend thrown off this station!"

Court responded and angrily pointed at this guy named Udina. "Well I don't take kindly to limp-dick assholes that make threats against me and my friends."

That earned a big huff from the Ambassador. "I have to be inside right now. You two wait right here and I will determine what to do with your status on this station with the Councilor." He turned his eyes away from the two and walked into the Embassy. He was last heard saying. "Anderson. We need to talk about. Shepard? What are you doing here?" Then the door closed and nothing else was heard.

"The nerve of that fucker." Paterson shakes his head. "That tool is representing our species?"

"When we get back to Earth, remind me to invest in a fallout shelter." Court added.

Then Paterson's Omni-tool lit up. He read the message and told Court. "Shepard wants us to go inside now."

"Uh-oh. I think we're in trouble with the principle." Court feigned fear. "You don't think we'll get detention for this."

The two entered and they were greeted by Shepard and a dark skinned man wearing a black buttoned up blouse with gold buttons on his right side. Udina's back was turned away from the two. Garrus was standing by the corner watching the drama unfold.

The darken skin man was the first to speak. "Udina? These are the men I told you about earlier. These men were abducted by a salarian vessel a hundred and fifty-seven years ago."

Udina turned to see the two soldiers he confronted earlier and he was dumbfounded. His surprise turned to anger when he spoke. "These men? These men insulted me."

"Oh, what did they say?" The man asked.

Court took the initiative and answered. "I admit it, sir. I did insult this man. I called him a limp-dick asshole."

It quickly earned a smile from Shepard and Garrus was possibly chuckling. The well-dressed man looks at Paterson. "Is this true?"

"No, sir. It's not true." Paterson said while pointing to Udina. "This man has no dick."

Shepard and Garrus were maintaining their composure while trying not to laugh at the two men's remarks about Udina.

The well-dressed man said to Udina. "Udina, I will have to talk to you later. I need to speak with these two for the moment." Udina just left the room pouting. The man walked to Paterson and Court while they stood at attention. "I am Councilor Anderson. I am aware of your situation, but that doesn't give you an excuse to insult the Ambassador like that. However, because of such special circumstances and through my authority as the Human Councilor… I'll let it slide." Anderson lightly laughs and quietly repeats what Paterson said with a small chuckle.

Shepard stops laughing and then makes the introductions. "Councilor Anderson, this is Staff Sergeant Timothy Paterson and this is Sergeant Jonathan Court. These were the men I told you about."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Paterson states to the man.

"The pleasure is also mine, sir." Court also said.

"At ease, gentlemen." Anderson said while typing on his Omni-tool. "There is a matter to address with your status with the Alliance. However, we have another issue to address with the Salarian Union. I need for you two to stand here and face the holographic screen."

They followed Anderson's directions and faced a wall. Then a transparent image popped up. It was a fully dressed salarian covered from head to toe, wearing a robe.

Anderson was the first to speak. "They're here Councilor Valern."

"Ah, I see." Valern said. "Mr. Paterson. Mr. Court. On behalf of the Salarian Union, I must apologize for what had happened to you two. You must understand that we didn't mean any harm. The ship that had taken you both aboard had full intentions of returning you to your original position."

"Well you didn't." Paterson said while fuming. "Instead we were taken away from the people and all the things we know. I hope you don't mind me saying this Councilor, but we don't hold your race in high regards right now. I thought I just let you know."

"I understand and you have every right to be angry." Valern said. "That's why we were prepared to compensate you both for your troubles."

Valern pressed a few buttons in front of him then both Paterson and Court raised their left arms when their Omni-tools lit up. Then to see something had changed while checking the amount of credits in their personal bank account. They were each given the sum of _seven million_ credits.

"Well, you know you can't change the past and we all make mistakes." Court said to Paterson then he looked back at the salarian on the screen and smiled. "Well, we have gone through a very bad ordeal. But this compensation sure will help cope with the change."

"I appreciate that." Valern said. "Again, speaking for the Salarian Union we cannot apologize any more than what we have to give you both."

The salarian fades away and Anderson silently gestures for the two men to come towards a table set up for the two men. Anderson stood across the two men and showed them two data pads lying in front of them.

"Mr. Paterson. Mr. Court." Anderson said in his official military manner. "It has come to my attention that you two haven't officially been discharged from the military. What I mean is that you two haven't been given your proper paperwork which declares you discharged. You see, you both served your country when this Second Korean War began and had officially joined the United States Army after the Korean forces withdrew. When your unfortunate situation with the salarian vessel had taken you away from your duties, you were both declared M.I.A. It was reported that you were both ambushed by strangling militiamen or stranded Korean soldiers. But in reality, you have been locked away in stasis since that time and now you both stand here before me and another major decision."

Anderson picks up the data pads and glances over the written work. "I had to discuss with the Alliance Military board and since you both have technically been part of the military for a hundred and fifty-seven years, you are both officially enlisted personnel of the Human Systems Alliance. The reason is that you have enlisted in the United States Army which had been transferred into the military branch of the United North American States in 2095. Then the UNAS transferred its military to serve the Systems Alliance in 2148. Therefore you are both entitled to have a hundred and fifty-seven years of back pay transferred to your accounts and since you have technically served your enlistment contracts, you are authorized to sign your discharge papers which I have here."

Paterson and Court looked at each other, but they didn't know what to say. Then they looked back at Anderson and he continued. "However, because of the situation with Shepard and the case of the Collector attacks, he has made another offer I was able to attain. You both have the option to re-enlist and serve once again."

"Permission to speak, sir?" Paterson asked.

"Yes, you may." Anderson replied.

"If I choose to re-enlist, what will happen?" Paterson's curiosity forced him to ask.

"If you choose to re-enlist, I already have a mission ready for you." Anderson takes a deep breath. "For starters, you will be awarded a sign up bonus which is standard for typical re-enlistments and you will be integrated into the Alliance military. If you choose to be discharged, you will be taken to the location of your choice. Regardless of either choice you make, you will be compensated for the time you have spent frozen in stasis which will total to the amount of…" He checks his Omni-tool. "You will each receive the total of _three million_ credits."

Paterson and Court were speechless. They were lost for words. Court made a half-hearted attempt to speak. "Sir, can I talk to my friend for a minute?"

"Take your time. It is a big decision after all." Anderson assured them and waited.

Paterson and Court turned around and they huddled their heads together. "What do you think?" Court whispers to Paterson.

"I don't know." Paterson said in a hushed tone. "I mean, we've already seen combat. But I have only been in the military for just a year and I planned on staying in longer. In my mind it has only been a year, but I wasn't expecting all of this."

"No one does, but look at the options." Court said. "We're millionaires. We can go anywhere we want and start a new life. We can get our old lives back again. Remember? Before the Koreans invaded? You can do whatever you want. I can go back to school."

Paterson looked at his friend and narrowed his eyes. "You know that's not true. Where's our family? Where are all the people we know? Hell. Earth will not be the same Earth when we left. All I got left is the military." Paterson takes a deep breath. "I'm staying."

Paterson turns his body around and faces Councilor Anderson. "Sir? May I see that pad?"

Anderson hands the pad over to Paterson. Paterson glances over the pad and nods. He touches the 'accept' key and hands it back over to Anderson. The Councilor looks over the document and nods approvingly. "Welcome to the Alliance, Serviceman First Class Timothy Paterson. By the way, the re-enlistment bonus includes a promotion to the next rank up. So congratulations Gunnery Chief Timothy Paterson."

"Thank you, sir. I won't let you down." Paterson salutes Anderson and shakes his hand.

"What about you, son?" Anderson asked Court.

Court sighs and shakes his head. Paterson's earlier talk had affected his previous decision. Now he wasn't so sure what he wanted to do now. Then after a few moments of soul searching, he nods to himself. He takes the data pad off the table and glances over the written document. "God help me." He presses the 'accept' key. "Does that include a promotion as well?"

"Of course, Serviceman First Class Jonathan Court." Anderson smiled. Then he glances over at Shepard and then he gives the Councilor an approving nod. "Now, I have an assignment for both of you. Since Shepard's Spectre status has been re-instated, he has the choice to recruit anyone for his mission. He requested for both of your services and as Alliance personnel, your orders are to assist Commander Shepard on the Normandy during his investigations of the missing colonies in the Terminus. Chief Paterson. Serviceman Court. Your orders are to assist Shepard and his team and you will both report to him as your C.O. Is that understood?"

Both Paterson and Court replied. "Yes, sir."

Shepard stepped in. "Now, since you both have a rather large bank account, I suggest you put it to some use and shop for some high quality weapons and armor. Garrus, take our newest members to the wards for a shopping spree, I have to talk to Councilor Anderson for a little bit."

Garrus, Paterson, and Court leave the embassy while Shepard has a private talk with Anderson. One question comes to Shepard's mind is where to find Ashley Williams.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N:**_

_I do not own the Mass Effect series or Homefront._

**MEMORIES OF THE HOMEFRONT**

** CHAPTER 5  
**

* * *

The Normandy's XO, Miranda Lawson made her contact with the head of Cerberus through the comm room and activated the holo-communicator. She was reporting to her boss, The Illusive Man. He was at his normal spot, sitting on his specially modified chair while staring out at the dying star, and as always, he is smoking a cigarette and having an expensive alcoholic beverage by his side.

He was the first to speak while he still gazed at the star. "Miranda. What do you have to report?"

"I wanted to let you know personally what had happened when we were leaving Omega." Miranda said while transferring the report to him from her Omni-tool.

The Illusive Man swiveled his chair around to look at his operative. He was glancing at the report and then looked at her with his bioluminescent eyes. "Is this true? Humans abducted from Earth over a hundred years ago from a salarian vessel?"

"I'm afraid so." Miranda said.

"Why didn't you send this report when you picked these men up?" He asked.

"Shepard insisted that I would only refer to this as a rescue, because of his ideology he said and I quote _'I don't want to add fuel to the Illusive Man's cause.'_ Unquote. Right now Shepard is visiting Councilor Anderson and this was the only time I could give you the accurate nomenclature."

The Illusive Man looks at the dossier of the two men and takes a puff from his cigarette. "What can you tell me about these men?"

Miranda spoke. "Timothy Paterson and Jonathan Court are soldiers from the early 21st century. They started their careers during the Second Korean war when they joined the American Resistance. After the Greater Korean Republic withdrew from the North American continent, they joined the United States Army. However, while traveling through Nevada they were abducted by a salarian research vessel." When she finished her verbal report, her Omni-tool called her attention.

"What just happened?" The Illusive Man asked.

Miranda reads the message that was sent from Shepard. "It would appear that both Paterson and Court have been re-instated into the Alliance Military and Shepard's Spectre status has been reapproved. Shepard had just recruited both men."

"Damn." The Illusive Man aggressively puts out his finished cigarette butt. "I can't have Alliance personnel wandering around the Normandy, especially men who were born a century before the first contact with other aliens."

"Sir I have to agree with you." Miranda had to explain the situation to her boss. "Unfortunately you did give him full control of this mission and since he is a Spectre, he has the authority to recruit whomever he needs. Besides, they still don't have the concept of our timeline down just yet."

The Illusive Man shuts his eye lids and places his right hand over his face, shaking his head in disgust. When he picks his hand back up, he looks at Miranda. "Very well. This shouldn't be a problem, just as long you keep a close eye on these men. You are dismissed, Lawson."

Miranda's image faded away and the Illusive Man looks at the dossier again. This time, he is approached by someone else in the room.

"Kai Leng?" The Illusive Man said. "I didn't call for you."

Kai Leng approached his leader wearing a type of Neo-Samurai fashion made specifically for his service to the Cerberus organization. His hair was black and tied up in an old traditional Japanese warrior fashion while wearing the Cerberus colors of black, gold, and white. Kai Leng also wore his custom made visor around his eyes when he used his sword from time to time.

"I just got the dossiers Operative Lawson sent." Leng said. "Is this true? Are these men from the old United States?"

"According to their files they're veterans from the American Resistance network." The Illusive Man said. "I get the sense there is more to this?"

"Yes." Leng looks at the data pad in his hand. "According to the files on this Paterson and Court, they worked with the American Resistance cell around Denver, Colorado. My great-great-grandfather was a Colonel in the Japanese Volunteer Corps. He was in charge of the division stationed in Denver after the Greater Korean Republic invaded."

"I take it this story has a meaning?" The Illusive Man asked.

"He was making a speech one day when it happened." Leng began gripping the data pad tighter. "In the middle of the speech, he was gunned down by a sniper's bullet in broad daylight and the cowards ran back to the rat holes where they came from. The culprits were members of the American Resistance chapter in Denver. These men were literally part of that chapter. They are a direct link to the murder of a member of my family. Sir, if you want these men dead I will be happy to take care of these men."

"Leng, I appreciate the offer." The Illusive Man said. "But right now we can't let past grudges from over a hundred years ago override the need of this mission against the Collectors. You must understand that we must acquire certain assets if we are to gain human advancement in the galaxy if we are to learn more about this mysterious race. As idealistic as Shepard can be, he must complete the mission. Is there anything else?"

Leng takes a deep breath and straightened up his stance. "Actually, there is something else. I just received a message from one of our deep space satellites. The Collector ship, the one that was responsible for the destruction of the first Normandy, has been sighted. The ship is only five clicks close to a few human colonies in the Terminus systems. However, there is one colony that has a particular Alliance soldier stationed on this colony called Horizon."

Leng gives the data pad to the Illusive Man and he looks at the report. Then he looks at Leng. "Ashley Williams."

Leng smiled. "Yes, Shepard's old girlfriend."

"Send an encrypted message to the Collector ship and mention about her position on the planet." The Illusive Man said. "This will be an opportunity to see what the Collectors are like up close and personal. Send the message to the Collectors after Shepard leaves the Citadel and I'll inform him personally of the impending attack. Hopefully Dr. Solus's cure is ready soon. You are dismissed Operative Leng."

Leng nods and walks out of room while the Illusive Man swivels his chair around and lights another cigarette.

* * *

Garrus leads Paterson and Court out of the gun shop and the two men are wearing their brand new armor. The armor felt surprisingly comfortable compared to the armor they remember wearing compared to when they fought street to street against Korean soldiers, if they were lucky to get armor. Whether it would be wearing either old Kevlar vests from old police warehouses or taking the body armor off of a dead KPA officer.

The armor of this century didn't feel heavy or restricted of movement. It felt lighter and more versatile, like wearing normal clothing. Both Paterson and Court chose Kestrel armor, however Paterson wanted his armor to be heavy and Court felt more comfortable in the medium variety.

"Now you guys look like soldiers. How does it feel?" Garrus asked.

"Feels great." Court said. "At least we won't get those odd looks for wearing outdated military clothing. What do you think Tim?"

"Great, but I feel like I just walked into a sci-fi film." Paterson replied while looking at his newest assault rifle, an M-15 Vindicator. He takes one last look before putting it away and asked Court. "What about your weapons?"

Court purchased an assault rifle called and M-8 Avenger and a shotgun called M-27 Scimitar. "They feel a lot nicer than carrying around an M4." Court said. "Is there a chance for target practice while onboard the Normandy?"

"I can arrange some practice, if you want." Garrus said.

At that moment, Paterson was distracted with a trio of people in front of him. He looks at Court and Garrus and asks. "Who are those people?"

Paterson was pointing to a small mole-like person wearing a brown suit with a pig snout mask. It was standing across another being wearing a black suit with a blue visor covering the face and judging by the silhouette of the suit, the figure looked female. Standing between the two was a human male wearing an official blue uniform. They knew this was a C-Sec officer conducting some official business.

"What species are those?" Paterson asked Garrus.

"That small one is called a volus." Garrus said. "They are considered the financial specialists of the galaxy. They are the ones who regulate the financial structure of the whole galaxy. That other one is called a quarian. They lost their homeworld three hundred years ago when their machine mechs called the geth rebelled against them and they were forced to wonder the galaxy in their group of ships they call the Migrant Fleet. As a matter of fact, when I told you about Saren we had a quarian named Tali'Zorah who helped us bring him down when she was on her pilgrimage."

"Pilgrimage?" Court asked. "Looking for holy relics or making offerings to their gods?"

"Actually, it's a rite of passage that proves they are ready to become adults when they leave the fleet only to bring something of value back to the fleet." Garrus explains. "The problem is that they are often looked down upon. They are seen as thieves and beggars. Discrimination among the quarians is common place."

"Wait." Paterson stops Garrus. "Listen to what's going on."

"I did not!" The female quarian protested. "I did not steal his chit."

"You can't trust this clanless thief." The volus stated. "I demand you arrest her."

Court listened to the conversation and shakes his head. "It's amazing, Tim. We travel a hundred and fifty-seven years in the future and we end up in 1960's Montgomery, Alabama." Court looks at his friend and notice Paterson has frozen in place. Court tries to seize his attention. "Tim? Tim? Paterson, are you awake?"

Paterson mind went back to a memory he didn't want to go.

"Paterson. I said are you awake?" Court called for his friend again.

Paterson shakes his head and suddenly had a burning fire in his eyes. "She's being accused of something she hasn't done. We got to help her."

"What? Why?" Court asked.

Paterson looked at his friend in the eyes and tells him. "Because if we don't help her, nobody else will." Paterson quickly approached the beleaguer quarian girl. "Excuse me, what's going on here?"

The C-Sec officer raised his right hand halting Paterson. "I'm sorry, I'm trying to get a statement here."

Then Paterson and Court heard the volus speak like someone suffering from asthmatic symptoms. "There's nothing to talk about! She stole my credit chit. Arrest her!"

"I did not!" The quarian protested. "Just because I'm a quarian!"

The two men noticed the voice of this quarian's voice resonated from some type of microphone which had a light that lit up around the mouth area when she spoke and the volus spoke through a similar device, but breathed as if it was suffering from a severe case of asthma.

"I need you to stop and take a deep breath." The officer said to both parties, but he was particularly looking at the volus.

"You're mocking me, Earth clan! Just because the Vol-clan need…" The volus was shaking its stubby arms.

The C-Sec officer quickly responded. "It was a poor choice of words, sir. I apologize."

Paterson looks at the quarian. "What are you being falsely accused of?"

She explains. "I was walking to the used ship dealer when he barged into me outside the Sirta Foundation. He didn't stop or say he was sorry. A minute later, he runs up with C-Sec and accuses me of stealing his damn chit!"

Paterson looks at the C-Sec officer, gesturing him to tell him his name. "Officer…?"

"Tammert." The officer said.

"Officer Tammert." Paterson continues. "Does she have his chit on her?"

"Well, she doesn't have it, but you know how these pickpockets work." Tammert said. "They just take what they grab and stash it somewhere to pick up later if they have been caught."

Garrus just whispers in Court's ear. "Stall them if you can. I have an idea where the chit could be."

Garrus takes off towards one of the stores and Court approaches the volus. "Hey buddy. Tell me, where do you normally put your chit when you are not using it?"

"What? How dare…" The volus protested.

"Just tell me? We can help locate your chit faster." Court said.

The volus just pouted and pointed to his lower pockets. "Here."

Then he looks at the quarian and calculated the height difference. "When she bumped into you, did she bend over?"

"What is this questioning?" The volus was obviously starting to be enraged.

"Answer the damn question, ya mole." Paterson snapped. "Did she bend over?"

The volus just stares at Paterson. He shakes his head. "No. No she didn't."

"Then it's physically impossible for her to have taken your chit." Court made his deduction.

Paterson looks at the volus. "Have you ever considered that you left it at one of the stores around here?"

Tammert chimed right in. "Sirs, this is a C-Sec matter. We'll do all we can to resolve this. We don't need civilian help. If you do happen to find the chit, please let…"

The C-Sec officer was cut off when Garrus returned. "Officer? I just got back from Saronis Applications. The clerk said he left his chit and is holding it for him."

The volus didn't know how to react. "Oh. Well. The quarian could have stolen it."

Tammert pulls up his data pad and taps a few keys on the screen. "I'll close this event report. But I'll be watching you. Get a permanent residence, or I'll run you in for vagrancy."

Paterson's temper boiled over and pulled the C-Sec officer back while he was trying to walk away. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" He stops and looks at the volus. "You accused this girl of stealing from you and when proven wrong, you don't apologize or admit you're wrong! All you can say is 'that she could have stolen it?!'" He shoves the short and stout alien back and looks at the C-Sec officer. "You! You let this guy harass and accuse her of stealing his chit and decide to thrown in a threat to arrest her?!"

"How would you like…" Tammert tried to finish, but he was cut off.

"I'm not done yet!" Paterson almost shouted. "I bet you would arrest her, put her in a nice windowless room where you and your goons could 'work her over' and do all kinds of sick shit to her like sticking electrodes in her body, beating her repeatedly, and letting the guard dogs go to town on her! Weren't ya?!"

"All right, that's it!" Tammert said. "I'm taking you in for obstruction of justice!"

Garrus and Court was about to intervene, but someone else shows up. "What's going on here?" The voice belonged to Shepard.

Court was quick to explain. "Commander, this cop was trying to arrest this quarian for a crime she didn't commit! Now this guy wants to arrest us for proving him wrong!"

Shepard crosses his arms. "Is that so? I'll take over from here."

Tammert responded. "Sir, I don't need another civilian to help. I'm taking him in. I don't want to have to run you in as well."

Shepard just scowled at the officer and used his authoritarian voice. "You think you're gonna 'run in' a Spectre. Besides, this man's with me and I'll take care of it."

Officer Tammert was obviously displeased and he cursed to himself when he walked away. The volus did the same thing as he waddled away.

Shepard looked at Paterson with stern eyes and asked. "What the hell were you doing? First day being reinstated into the Alliance and you almost get arrested?"

"I apologize, Commander." Paterson takes a deep breath. "It's just that girl was being accused of something she didn't do and… And… I had to do something."

Shepard looked the quarian girl and asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." The girl said. "He rescued me and he has been the nicest person I met so far since I left the fleet."

"I take it you're on your pilgrimage." Shepard said.

"You know about the pilgrimage?" She asked.

"I once had someone on my crew who was on hers. She was on her pilgrimage when I met her." Shepard explained. "Can you take care of yourself from here, miss…"

"Lia. Lia'Vael." The girl says her name. "I'm staying in a turian shelter. I eat nutrient paste once in a while, but I'm surviving. I want to thank you all. I wish there was more I could give you than just my thanks. Especially you, Mr.…"

"Paterson. Timothy Paterson." He lowers his head and takes a deep breath. "Commander, can I sit down at that bench for a while? I just need to clear my head."

Shepard takes a deep breath and tells Paterson. "When you're ready, we will be all at the Dark Star lounge over there."

Paterson nods and he looks for a bench. When Shepard, Garrus, and Court walked over to the nightclub, he found a bench and takes a deep breath. He begins to 'people watch' when a familiar mechanical voice approached him. "Hello. Uh, Mr. Paterson?" It was the quarian girl, Lia.

Paterson looked up to see the familiar girl, or at least the familiar suit. "Yes? Can I help you with anything else?"

Lia just fiddled with her three fingers and replied. "I just want to thank you again for what you've done for me and I really don't know how to repay you but I wish there was a way I could. But I have a question to ask. Why were you willing to help me? I mean we quarians are viewed as vagrants."

"It just felt like the right thing to do." Paterson said.

"I figure that much, but the look on your eyes and the intensity on your body language said otherwise." Lia said. "If it is not too much, could you tell me?" Then she sits down next to Paterson.

Paterson looks at the girl's visor, which creates the absence of her face so he stares at her bioluminescent eyes. He takes a moment to think about it, but he felt an overwhelming sense of calm when she asked. He felt he could trust her with what he had to say. Then exhales a big sigh. "Well, I thought I should let you know something about myself, first of all. I am not from this century. I was born on Earth when we were still using fossil fuels to take us from one place to another. We didn't even have spacecraft that could take us beyond our solar system. However, my friend and I were taken aboard a spaceship ran by these aliens called salarians for some type of research. According to what was told, the ship went defunct and only me and my friend survived while we were in freezing stasis pods. We had just been rescued, but it is over a hundred-plus years for both of us. I never met a non-human until a few days ago."

"That's amazing." Lia said. "So you have no biased opinion against people who aren't your species."

"Well, that's not all." Paterson said while taking a deep breath. "When I saw you getting harassed by that cop, it brought back a bad memory. You see during my time I was involved with a big war. My nation was invaded by a rival country and they were enforcing oppressive laws on our people. I joined the resistance network that was dedicated to fighting back against these tyrants. I had successfully destroyed a vehicle depot used by the enemy. That's when I remembered… her."

* * *

**July 27, 2026**

Paterson was crawling through the chain-link fence he had cut previously before sneaking on the Korean Motor depot. He had set the charges on all the Korean vehicles and when he knew he was at a safe distance, he set the charges. The Motor depot erupted in a brilliant explosion. The explosions costs the Korean occupation forces thirty-five LAV-25 transports, twenty-two T-99 Main battle tanks, and five Goliaths. All and all, these advanced classes of vehicles were now reduced to nothing more than scrap metal. This was his best work yet, but it attracted the attention of a few RQ-10 Parrot drones flying around the area.

Paterson knew he would be spotted by those annoying drones, but he did have an exit strategy. While Court and a few other resistance members created a diversion near the other side of the base, Paterson was the one who snuck in and planted the explosives. Now he was on the run from whatever the Korean occupation forces could muster and this meant having to look for his personal hiding spot which he had picked out before the attack, it was an escape route which happens to be inside an apartment building.

He crawled through the basement window and pulled out a spray bottle of ammonia which he had previously placed before the attack. He sprayed down the area where he had entered so the search dogs won't find his location. Then he found another entrance near the northwest corner of the basement, a hundred year old tunnel entrance. It was once a smuggler's tunnel during the Prohibition Era, now it was Paterson's getaway route.

When he covered his tracks and hid the tunnel entrance with a door designed to look like a stack of wooden pallets, he heard the sound of a scared woman. Against better judgment, he stopped. He turned around and looked through the slit of the wooden pallet that covered the entrance of the smuggler's tunnel. It was two masked KPA soldiers dragging a woman who lived in the apartment. She was dragged by two soldiers while the girl was screaming in terror. He couldn't see past the soldiers face masks, but he can see the girl. She looked roughly the same age as he did. She had brown hair and she wore a worn out pink night gown. He could almost make out the color of her eyes through the tears of her terror.

She was held down and forced to her knees when a third KPA soldier entered the basement. The soldier was a major and judging by the ribbons on his shoulders and the matching color of his beret, he was an intelligence officer.

The other two soldiers forced her to stare at the superior officer and he spoke in the best English he could muster up. "A rebel was here! He blew up our base! Where is he?"

"What?" The girl said in terror. "I don't know…" Before she could answer she was slapped in the face with a strong back hand.

"I say again!" The major exclaimed. "A rebel was here! You are hiding him?"

"No!" She said. "I live here alone! Nobody comes here! I'm not hiding anybody!"

"Lie!" The major pointed at her face. "You are hiding rebels! You did see rebels!"

"_I did not!_" Was what the girl said and for some reason that tone struck a chord with Paterson.

The major looks away from the terrified girl and gives orders to the soldiers holding her down speaking in their native language. The men dragged the girl away by carrying her under her arms and the major followed behind them walking back up the stairs to places unknown.

Paterson realized that he had found a spot that some girl that he didn't know was possibly squatting and now he had gotten her captured and possibly tortured to death. He didn't realize it at the time, but his body was so numb with anger and guilt that tears was pouring from his eyes.

* * *

Lia placed her hand over her mouth piece. "Keelah. You felt guilty for her capture. I am so sorry."

"It's okay; it's all in the past." Paterson said while trailing off. "It's all in the past. It's all in the past, every last one of them." Paterson snapped out of his trance and asked. "So tell me, why are you here on the Citadel? You said I was the nicest person you met since you got here. Why come to a spot where you know that you are going to be… you know. Not well-liked?"

Lia didn't answer right away, but she knew it was her turn to open up. "I heard after the geth attack on the Citadel two years ago, I figured there would be some work available. The only problem is I keep running into stores and worksites that says 'quarians need not apply'. So far all I have been getting was nasty stares and people calling me names. I just want work and save up to buy my pilgrimage gift."

"What are you trying to buy?" Paterson asked.

"I would like to buy a ship and bring it back to the fleet." Lia said while turning to the side and pointing to a store. "That's the used ship store I mentioned before, before that volus bumped into me and accused me of stealing his credit chit. I go there a lot and look at the models they have to offer."

"Well, that's very ambitious." Then Paterson had idea forming his head. Then he remembered the story Garrus mentioned about this quarian girl called Tali. "Let me ask you a question. What kind of work experience do you have?"

"Well, like all the people in our species we are experienced engineers." Lia said.

"What about advanced starships?" Paterson asked.

"What I wouldn't give to work on one of those." Lia said while pondering the idea.

Paterson rubs his chin and nods. He stands up and urges Lia to follow him. "The man I was with is at the Dark Star lounge. I could talk to that guy who helped us out earlier. If he accepts, I'll get you working on the engines of our ship."

"Great, but not to sound rude." Lia said. "How will I be paid?"

"If he agrees, I think know what will make you happy." Paterson said with a smile and walked towards the bar.

* * *

The Dark Star lounge was just like any bar or nightclub back on Earth, the only difference is the people are made up of humans and aliens. Shepard, Garrus, and Court were sitting at a booth, sipping on drinks.

Shepard was drinking scotch while Garrus was drinking turian brandy. Court felt a little adventurous and tried something called batarian ale, which he liked right off the bat. He was told to be careful drinking it, because it was rather strong.

Between sips of his drink, Court was learning more about the discoveries from the past hundred years. "So this whole time, these alien ruins were buried on Mars which then led to Pluto where the moon of Charon was actually one of these relay things?"

"In a nutshell, yes." Shepard said.

"I mean I remember when we sent probes out to Mars and to the outer planets." Court added. "Imagine what would've happened if those probes found those… Prothean? Am I saying it right? Yeah, Prothean ruins on Mars back in my time. It would've revived our space agency if the financial ruin didn't hinder it."

Garrus spots Paterson and the quarian girl they met before walking into the club. Court sees his friend and waves him over to their table. Court looks at the quarian girl and said to him when he walks up to the table. "Looks like you made a friend."

"Something like that." Paterson replied. "Commander Shepard? You remember this girl?"

"Yes, is she still trouble?" Shepard asked.

"No, but I think there's something we could do to help her out." Paterson said. "She's on her pilgrimage and she has experience working with engines. Is it possible we could to bring her on board and she can help work in engineering?"

Shepard looks at the girl for a moment. "Well I have no problem with it; hell I always had a soft spot for the quarian people. But I'm not so sure how we'll pay her. Not to mention who's funding this mission."

"Who is funding the mission?" Lia asked.

Garrus was the first to tell her. "Actually, have you heard of Cerberus?"

Lia was quiet and quite possibly lost her breath. Then she shakes her head. "Cerberus? I would never work for those, bosh'tets!" Her tone had become angry and then she turned to Paterson. "You didn't tell me you work for them."

"Hold on, Lia." Shepard said. "Lia, right? Yes. I know what happened between Cerberus and the Migrant Fleet. I ran into Tali'Zorah a while back and she told me about what had happened."

Garrus was next to mediate. "Look. This mission we're on is funded by Cerberus, but I am participating with this group along with a salarian doctor and a krogan soldier. Not to mention that the humans on board aren't fanatics like the rest of that organization."

Lia is again quiet, but she nods her head. "Alright, but I still don't trust Cerberus. Not after what they did."

"What did Cerberus do?" Paterson asked.

"One of our ships was helping a human biotic hide from Cerberus, which was until they sent troops to attack the ship he was hiding onboard." Lia said. "They killed many members of the Migrant Fleet."

"Damn." It was all Paterson could say. "Look. I can't erase the past, trust me on that. However, I figured a way help you acquire your pilgrimage gift if you accept to come with us."

"Really? How?" Lia asked crossing her arms, she was still skeptical about him working for Cerberus.

"Take me to that ship dealership you told me about." Paterson said.

Lia nods and takes Paterson out of the club.

"Don't forget, Paterson." Shepard said. "You still have free drinks waiting for you when you get back. A little reward for what you both said to Udina."

* * *

Paterson and Lia walked into the used ship store. He noticed the staff was made up of the same species as that had harassed Lia earlier.

He looks at the volus in the room and thinks to himself. _How do you tell these guys apart? They're dressed alike and sound almost the same._

A volus called for his attention. "Welcome Earth-clan. Might I interest you in our latest shipments?" Then the volus looks at Lia. "Oh, you again. Are you going to buy this time or just look?"

Paterson recognized the condescending tone from this volus's speech. Lia and Garrus weren't lying about quarians being treated like second-class citizens.

He was about to yell at this volus for his rude comment, but an idea came to him. "Excuse me? What was that tone you were giving her?"

"Excuse me, sir?" The volus said.

"I mean, why were you talking to her in such a rude tone?" Paterson asked. "Is it because she's a quarian?"

"Yes, I mean no." The volus stumbled with his words. "You see, she has been coming here for months, just looking at our ships but not buying anything."

"Well of course she's looking at ships at this dealership." Paterson put on his best fake angry face. "She's my employee and I'm having her check out all the dealerships in the Citadel. She just told me there were some nice models and I should buy it here. But if you are going to insult my staff, then I'll take my business somewhere else. Come on Lia, they don't need our money here."

"Wait!" The volus pleaded. "I'm sorry, I mean I didn't mean to insult your staff. We can work out a deal."

"Oh?" Paterson snapped back. "What kind of deal and don't waste my time, I'm a busy man."

The volus was becoming nervous. "Well, wh…what kind of ship are you looking for?"

Paterson paused for a moment and pulled Lia to the side and talk to her in private. "What kind of ship are you looking for?"

"Well, something like a freighter." Lia explained. "I saw a ship for sale made by your people. It's an Athabasca Class type ship. The armor is light, but I could convert it into a cruiser if given the right materials."

"Alright." Paterson returns to the volus. "I run a shipping business and my specialist told me of an Athabasca Class ship you have in stock. What's the price?"

The volus pulls out his data pad and finds the ship he requested. "Ah. For a business like yours, there will be a discount. You can have it for eight hundred-thousand credits. You are eligible for another deal, for one million credits you will receive four Kowloon Class ships along with your purchase of the Athabasca model."

Paterson looked at Lia and she nods. Then he turns back to the volus. "It's a deal. Where do I sign?"

The transaction was quick and after the right signatures were made, the volus said. "Now here is the location of our shipyard and this form will be proof of your purchase. You can keep at the shipyard up to six months or we will refund your money and the ships will be put back on sale. Thank you, Earth-clan."

Paterson and Lia walked out of the ship dealership and stopped her in front of a ramen noddle restaurant. "Now, here's the deal. If you agree to work with us for this mission we're doing?" He shows her the data pad. "This ship and the ships that came with it are yours when the mission is over. Is it a deal or not?"

He couldn't tell from behind the visor, but she was beaming with happiness. What he didn't expect was her reaction. She lunged forward and gave him a big hug. Paterson realized that no matter the species, it seemed a quarian female was just as grateful in the same manner as a human female.

He was stiff as a board in awkwardness while she squeezes him rather hard. He didn't realize how strong she was. "Is that a yes or a no? I'm not familiar with your peoples custom to that question."

Lia quickly pulled back and realized what she was doing. "Oh, keelah. I'm sorry. Yes. Yes. It's a deal. Is there a contract I have to sign?"

"I don't have one on me, but I can make one up if it will make you feel better?" Paterson said.

"Yes it would." Lia said.

"Now, I have a question." Paterson said while the two walk back to the Dark Star. "What exactly is a Kowloon Class?"

"It's like the Athabasca you bought, but half the size." Lia told him as they strolled down the Wards.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N:**_

_I do not own the Mass Effect series or Homefront._

**MEMORIES OF THE HOMEFRONT**

** CHAPTER 6**

Paterson and Court had a fun time touring the Citadel. They bought clothing that were considered civilian brand for this time and age. Paterson picked out a black shirt that was made of some type of synthetic fabric that was comfortable as cotton. He also picked out a pair of pants made of the same fabric as his shirt and similar in color. Court purchased the same pair, but his shirt was green.

They were leaning against the wall of this place called the Presidium and watching the people walk by. They were both reflecting on the time they spent on this massive space station and the talks they had with Commander Shepard. They remember Shepard telling them that the mass relays and the Citadel were constructed by this sentient species called the Reapers, but the Council and the other governments refused to acknowledge their presence. He told them about how he was recruited by the Council to become the first human Spectre and his adventures with his old crew trying to bring Saren down.

Court was gazing at the artificial skyline and the flying cars zipping by. "You know, this is nice. I had a lot a fun and I'm honest to say that I had the most fun in…heh. Years. That's not including being a human Popsicle."

"Yeah, we had fun." Paterson said. "I hope Lia had fun too. She needed it, because of all the crap she gets dealt with on a daily basis just because she's a quarian."

Court remembers spending some time with Lia. After she got settled in the Normandy, Paterson and Court invited her to hang out and she showed them the places she always wanted to visit when she was wandering around the Citadel. Court liked Lia and she was fun to be with and she was telling them many things about the races of the Citadel and life on the Migrant Fleet. Court did notice that she was showing more fondness towards Paterson, because he was able to read her body language clearer than what Paterson could read. He was oblivious to her attention.

She couldn't stay all day; Lia went back to the Normandy. She wanted to get started as soon as possible with her engineering duties. Court and Paterson spent the rest of their time off just strolling around the popular destinations.

"That's something I wanted to talk to you about." Court asked.

"If you're asking me if I like Lia like that, don't ask." Paterson shrugged his friend off. "I like her. Just not like that." Paterson suddenly felt embarrassed as he blushed and Court knew he was denying it.

"Not that, but I call bullshit on that part." Court joked but then his tone became unusually serious. "I mean, why did you go out on a limb and help a girl you never met? An alien one or anybody for that matter?"

Paterson was a bit hesitant to answer. "It's just the right thing to do. That's all. Nothing to explain."

Court looked at his friend. "It doesn't have to do with, Diane? Does it?" Paterson went quiet when he heard that name. "Forget it. I'm sorry I brought it up. Don't worry, I won't tell our friendly ginger therapist."

"Thanks." Paterson quickly changed the subject. "You know I heard the asari has something in their society called a Consort. Some type of fortune teller. She has a place across the bridge here, she's…

"Stop." Court told his friend. "Just stop. Why do you do this to yourself?"

"What?" Paterson pouts.

"Just, this." Court laid out his hands as if he were presenting something on a table. "You always have something on your mind, but you have trouble getting your thoughts out. Come on. Tell me something."

"Like what?" Paterson was getting annoyed. "And keep in mind we're in a public place. You don't know who is listening."

"Okay." Court tried to think of something useful to ask. "Remember yesterday. We were on that flying car. You mentioned about flying and your uncle. What happened to you that make you hate flying?"

"Well, if you got a minute." Paterson guided Court over to a bench. After they sat down, he told him his story. "Well. You already know about me growing up with the militias. Well, when I was seven my uncle started his own militia in Utah and our family visited him. After he bought a run-down mining facility, he was going to start his militia with a few guys and one thing he happened to have in his personal arsenal, a helicopter. He had his own helicopter since he was a licensed helicopter pilot. So, before starting up the compound, he takes me on his personal flying tour."

He takes a deep breath and continues. "He took me up and we were flying pretty high, then the chopper stalled out. Then all I could remember was the free fall and the terrifying feeling running through my mind. Imagine how scary it was to a seven year old kid. Then he managed to gain control of the chopper at the last second and we landed on some rancher's property, scaring his cattle."

Court laughed a little, but Paterson's look in his eyes showed he was dead serious.

Paterson continued. "He didn't get in trouble with the FFA, but he did get in trouble with my dad. The argument lasted for hours from what I could remember. Then it ended with my dad storming out of his house and taking me and my mom with him. I never saw my uncle again. Well, at least until after I left home. We kept in touch through phone and writing a few letters here and there. I got to go hunting with him a few times. Then it happened. When the Koreans came, I found out his militia managed to put up a fight for two years. Then I met a former patrolman named Boone Karlson. He was part of the resistance cell in Montrose. I told him about my uncle's militia in Utah and his helicopter. He said he needed it and I manage to get in contact with my uncle and I informally introduced the two men. Boone said he needed to recruit a helicopter pilot, Robert Jacobs. He's was a former Marine chopper pilot staying in Montrose, but I also warned Boone about the Korean chatter about sending the pilot to the re-education camps in Alaska. So Boone was quick to recruit the pilot."

Court looked at Paterson. "So what happened?"

"After Jacobs and some people escape from Montrose, Karlson was killed." Paterson said. "So Jacobs, two men and a woman tried to make contact with my uncle's militia. I didn't hear anything after that, at least not until after the Koreans withdraw." Paterson was quiet for a minute. Then he continued. "Then that's when I found out. That Marine pilot and his friends tried to use the helicopter for a mission to relieve a stranded Army division in San Francisco, but instead they stormed the compound and took the helicopter, killing many militiamen along the way. My uncle was among the dead. My uncle met Jacobs at the entrance of the compound and tried to kill him, but that Marine pilot beat him to the punch."

"Oh, shit." Court could only say.

"As you see, I made the connection, then the introduction, and then unintentionally got my uncle killed." Paterson confessed. "It was my fault."

"No it's not." Court told him.

"Yes, it is." Paterson told him. "It was my fault, because I've known about my uncle's paranoia and his short temper. Not to mention that he wasn't the same man before he left for Utah. I just…"

"Tim, buddy." Court put his hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault. You didn't know what your uncle was about, I mean Christ you had no idea what he was capable off. You can't pin this on yourself alone. You can't blame yourself for things that happened that you had no control over. Hell, did you had control over what has happened in the past? No, because if you did you would've prevented the NOK's invading us or prevented us from being abducted by that salarian ship?" Paterson didn't answer. "But we did get a nice compensation check from those salarians. Not to mention we get to enjoy our renewed military careers. And on top of that, we get to travel with Shepard. He seems like a decent fellow and shares his hate for politicians like we do. So come on, let go hit a couple bars before we head back to the Normandy."

"Which one?" Paterson asked.

"There's this one called Flux I've heard about. You in?" Court got up from his seat.

"Sure." Paterson got up and followed Court.

What the two didn't know was that a woman eavesdropped on their entire conversation. She turned her head and looked at the two men walking away.

She called someone on her Omni-tool. "It's Khalisah al-Jilani here. I need a source. I know Shepard's alive. Find me some information about two men. Cross reference Shepard's latest crew log and find two human males who were recently compensated by the Salarian Union. Why? I think I found something more interesting than Shepard's revival."

* * *

Shepard was told minutes earlier that The Illusive Man wanted to talk to him via holoport, but after he received the message Dr. Chakwas also had some news to tell him. He'd rather talk to her first.

"Commander. I'm glad you came." Chakwas said. "I have some rather interesting news to tell you."

"Interesting? What is it?" Shepard asked.

"Well, do you remember when Dr. Solus and I took blood samples from Paterson and Court when we brought them on board?" Chakwas said while pulling out a data pad. "Well I registered their DNA on the Galactic Registry and I just got a hit. It turns out Court still has relatives in this era."

"I guess he would like to hear that." Shepard said. "I mean, it will be a little odd to tell them about his situation, but I'm sure they would be interested to know who he is."

"Well, it might be sooner than expected. Here." Chakwas said while handing the data pad to Shepard.

Shepard examines the report and his eyes widen when he read the results. "You got to be kidding me?"

* * *

Paterson and Court took off their armor and stowed their weapons in their appropriate places. Since the two are now members of the Human Systems Alliance and not members of Cerberus, they were given a makeshift quarters to separate themselves from the rest of the crew. Even though they have a room for themselves, it was small because the room took up a bunk bed and a dual closet. They kept the armor and weapons on them despite the fact that they were allowed to keep them in the armory, but it was a forced habit from their days fighting with the resistance whereas to always keep your weapons close to you even when you sleep. The reason was that you will never know when the enemy will attack.

What other crew members told him was that the beds was a lot better than what was issued to the Alliance personnel, but after what the two have been through anything soft was pure bliss or too much to handle. Court agreed to take the bottom bunk, but Paterson didn't feel comfortable sleeping on a mattress so he chose to sleep on the hard floor when they have to go to bed. They both agreed not to sleep in the stasis pods for the obvious reason of being stuck in one for a century in a half.

They put away all their things, took off their civilian clothing, and changed into a set of Cerberus issued uniforms that was left for them. They were amazed how comfortable they fit despite the fact that they look very constricting as the articles of clothing were tightly hugging the body. They were in agreement that they were hungry and took the elevator up to the crew deck to grab a bite to eat.

The ship's Mess Sergeant made some fish gumbo and the crew absolutely loved it because Shepard bought some proper food rations when they stopped on the Citadel. When Paterson and Court got in line to grab a bowl full of gumbo, they were drawing stares from the other crew members. Both men were feeling a bit intimidated being surrounded by all these people as if they were being sized up.

When it was their turn to get their gumbo, Court asked Paterson. "Any particular reason why these people are looking at us?"

"It's probably because it's the first time they saw you since you boys woke up." The Mess Sergeant said while both men looked at the middle-aged bald man serving their stew. "They're looking at you because it's unique to see someone from the past wake up around this time period. Hell. Now that I think about it, you guys are still in your twenties and you're both older than me and the ship's doctor put together."

"Oh, thanks for telling us that." Paterson said. "Who are you?"

"Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardner." He extends his free hand and both Paterson and Court shake his hand. "I'm the ship's cook. And I am also the ship's Jack of all trades."

"Oh, like what?" Court asked.

"The kind of things that no one ever thinks about, but it's important to have." Rupert said. "Like cooking meals for the crew is one example. I also take care of the plumbing, janitorial work, and all the things that fall through the cracks." That remark gave Paterson and Court a pause. Immediately Rupert set things straight. "I know what you're thinking, but no worries I always wear gloves and I always wash my hands thoroughly when preparing food."

Paterson was brave enough to try the gumbo first. After his first taste he nods in approval and tells Rupert and Court. "It's tasty."

Court tries it for himself and gives Rupert the approving nod. "Mmmm. That's good."

"Thanks guys." Rupert said. "That means a lot to me, because the food has improved since I convinced Shepard to buy some decent food instead of military rations."

"Ha, military rations would've been a step up compared to what we were used to." Paterson said while continuing to eat his food. "I mean imagine being out in the field dodging surveillance drones and helicopters and you have to eat what you can get your hands on. I mean you either have to hunt for your meal or scrounge for nonperishable cans of beans."

Court added to the conversation while he scarfs down his bowl. "Yeah, funny that we were never able to find a prime rib dinner out there."

"Or filet mignon topped off with caviar." Rupert's drawl trailed off as if he intended to subtly tell off some member of the crew sitting at the mess table as if they had this conversation before.

Before they knew it, both men were finished with Rupert's gumbo. They thank him for the meal and put the dishes away. Then Paterson sees Shepard through the medical bay's windows. He was talking to the ship's doctor, an elderly woman whom he is trying to remember the name. Then he shrugs off the thought and walk with Court to the elevator, they were going to have target practice with Garrus and the ship's weapons specialist, somebody named Jacob.

After getting their weapons, the two arrived at the docking bay where Garrus and a dark skinned man were setting up targets.

"Hey guys." Garrus was the first to greet the two. "Care to test your shooting skills?"

"Always." Paterson replied.

"Looking forward to it." A raspy voice with a thick British accent came from behind the two.

Paterson remembers this man after being captured when trying to flee the krogan he met earlier. Court, however, shuttered when he saw the familiar character standing next to some crates. He realized it was the same elderly man with the scar on his face he met before, and then remembers the crack on the back of his skull from that man's rifle.

"Shit! You!" Court's tone becomes a little defensive.

"You're still not mad about that little love tap from earlier, aren't you?" The man said. Then he approached the two men and extended his right hand towards Court. "Don't worry, I won't bite. I did that earlier, because it was the only way to slow you down."

"Right." Court slowly extends his own right hand and shakes the two men shakes hands. "Jonathan Court."

"Zaeed Masani." The elderly man said. Then he turns his hand towards Paterson.

"Tim Paterson." Paterson shakes Zaeed's hand.

"Nice to see you two down here." The other man approached. "I got the targeting systems up and running. So who wants to go first?"

"I will." Garrus said while pulling up his sniper rifle and taking careful aim.

"Oh, by the way. I'm Jacob Taylor." It was his turn to shake both men's hands.

Paterson and Court introduce themselves while Garrus takes a few shots at a holographic target. That was what the rest of the time was done, shooting their weapons at the targets and making it a little bit of a competition between the five. It would seem that Garrus got the early start during the friendly contest using his sniper rifle. Jacob and Zaeed were tied when their turns came up.

Then it was Court's turn. He told everyone just when he was positioning himself in the _prone position_ and aiming his sights through his newly purchased M-8 Avenger. "Just remember, these rifles don't have the kick or the noise compared to what me and Tim had to use all the time. This could feel a bit awkward." Court zeroed in on his target, takes a deep breath, and squeezes the trigger.

To his surprise, Court hardly felt the recoil. The target hit its mark near the center and this made him pleased.

Now it was Paterson's turn. "Okay, allow me." He said confidently and fired his shots at the target with his M-15 Vindicator. His shots hit much closer than Court's, but Court knew that Paterson was always the better marksman since he learned to shoot since he was a child.

"Impressive." Garrus said. "You're handling these weapons better than I thought you would."

"Yeah, but now I want to know how to handle these." Jacob walks over to a small crate and opens the lid. He pulls out two rifles that look very familiar to the two men.

"Our M4s." Court pointed out. "Where did you get them?"

"They were part of your possessions when we found you two on the salarian ship." Garrus said.

"Yeah. I cleaned them up and checked to make sure they were still in working order." Jacob said. "With your permission I would like try these out. How 'bout it?"

Paterson didn't take long to answer. "Alright, but remember. They don't make them like they used to."

"Yeah. Ammo fed, gas powered chambers, and chemically based projectiles." Zaeed added. "Products of a bygone era."

"And the recoil. They kick hard compared to these new rifles." Court said.

"Really?" Garrus takes the rifle from Court and takes an aiming position. He gazes down the sights of the rifle's scope.

"Wasting the ammo shouldn't be a problem." Paterson said. "I know how to make gunpowder, but could we fire it inside the ship? I mean the powder discharge could set off the fire alarms. It's not like these new weapons we have."

"Don't worry, it's safe." Jacob said.

"Okay, then try them out guys." Paterson said.

Garrus and Jacob each take aim with the antique rifles; Garrus had some trouble placing his finger through the trigger guard since it was specifically sized for humans. Both take aim and squeezed off a few rounds. The shots were louder and the recoil was strong. Both Garrus and Jacob found it difficult to control, but their past military training helped them adapt to the difficulty.

When Garrus and Jacob finished, they examined the holographic targets. They didn't do as bad as they thought, but Zaeed made fun of their abilities for the sake of light humor. Then Zaeed takes the M4 from Garrus and he gives it a try.

"Funny. This rifle's older than Jessie." Zaeed loads a fresh clip into the chamber, takes aim, and empties the round into the target. "Fires like her too."

"Who's Jesse?" Court asked.

"My first rifle when I became a merc." Zaeed said while checking out his score. He managed to score higher than Garrus and Jacob.

Now Court and Paterson took their turns and naturally their targets hit their marks. At the end it was Paterson who made the highest score using the M4. Court and Zaeed were tied for second. Garrus and Jacob were tied for third.

"Well, I'm not surprised that you would be the best shot out of all of us Tim." Garrus said. "You are more accustomed to that rifle than we are."

"If you think this is a hard rifle to fire, you should try the Russian made Mosin–Nagant. That thing kicks like a mule." Paterson said while showing the empty chamber. "I know I can make the ammo, but it's time consuming. Is it possible to convert M4's ammo stock to those mass generators these new weapons use?"

"Fraid not." Jacob said. "They tried that before. I remember watching a documentary a few years ago about converting old tech and upgrading them. They tried it with a set of old AK-47s. What happened is the Mass Effect field overloaded the chambers and each exploded after one shot."

"So upgrading these is out of the question, got it." Court said.

"Must've been bloody impressive." Zaeed coined in. "Using those rifles during the threshold of World War Three. You must have some stories to tell from your time out in the field."

"Well, what about you." Court asked. "You probably have some interesting stories."

"I'll have to warn you." Garrus said. "They all end with him being the only one who got out alive."

Zaeed just scoffed at Garrus and began telling one of his stories.

* * *

The Illusive Man sat in his chair and waited for Shepard's signal. When his holographic image showed, the Illusive Man spoke.

"Shepard. I think we have them." The Illusive Man said while showing the image of the planet next to him. "Horizon. One of our colonies in the Terminus Systems just went silent. If it isn't under attack, it soon will be. Has Mordin delivered the countermeasure for the seeker swarms?"

"Not yet." Shepard told him.

"Let's hope he works well under pressure." The Illusive man said. "There's something else you should know. One of your former crew, Ashley Williams…she's stationed on Horizon."

Shepard was stunned by this revelation. Then he replies. "Last I knew, Ash was Alliance. Why is she out in the Terminus Systems?"

"Officially, it's an outreach program to improve Alliance relations with the colonies." The Illusive Man said. "But they're up to something. And if they sent Chief Williams, it must be big. Perhaps you should take it up with her."

Shepard was taking in what his entire mysterious benefactor is telling him, but all he could think about was the intimate time he spent with her before the Ilos mission when he was chasing after Saren.

Shepard quickly collects his thoughts. "Send the coordinates. We'll head straight there."

"This is the most warning we've ever had, Shepard." The Illusive Man said. "However, before you go I have to ask. What are you doing with two time-warped soldiers from the past?"

"Who, Paterson and Court?" Shepard replied. "Only obtaining resources as I go along."

"It's a shame I had to find out about it through, Miranda." The Illusive Man told him. "Any particular reason you failed to tell me that you found abducted human soldiers from the early 21st century on a derelict salarian vessel and now they are not just members of your new crew, but re-instated into the Alliance?"

"Simple, I don't answer to you." Shepard said. "As I recall you granted me full control of this mission. I can recruit whoever I want and since my Spectre status has been reactivated, that also includes members of the Alliance military. Besides, they were given a choice and they chose to stay with me on this mission."

The Illusive Man was quiet and he takes another drag of his cigarette. "You're right. I did give you full authority to conduct this mission as you see fit. However, don't forget who is funding this mission and don't forget who brought you back from the dead." His tone became sterner.

"I'll be heading to Horizon." Shepard steps out of the holographic image.

The Illusive Man takes a sip of his drink and activated another holo port. A dark skinned woman, wearing a similar skintight apparel similar to Miranda Lawson's uniform appeared.

She stood at attention before her leader. "Operative Brooks? Is it done?"

"Yes, sir." Operative Maya Brooks replied. "We have sent the signal to the Collector ship and they are currently on course to Horizon."

"Excellent, just enough time for Shepard to arrive." The Illusive Man said. "Are you well hidden?"

"Yes. The Collectors haven't detected our ship yet." Brooks said.

"Maintain your surveillance operation and report all the activity that will happen on Horizon." The Illusive Man said while putting out his cigarette.

"Yes, sir." Brooks's image fades away.

The Illusive Man swivels his chair around to look at the dying star and said to himself. "Shepard, you idealistic fool." Then he looks at the dossier on both Paterson and Court. "You won't be fighting the Korean People's Army. Let's see how you two handle fighting an alien species."


End file.
